Teen Titans Fanfiction
by Jardix
Summary: An alternate view of the story line, with only a few changes.
1. Chapter 1

(I do not own any of the characters or story lines used in this story. I would like to add that this story isn't _terribly_ different from the episode, but bear with me, it gets better. I want to establish the back-story before I get too deep in. Please, read at least the fourth chapter before deciding on whether or not to continue, and post comments! I won't know what to fix if you don't tell me the problems.)

Two beings stood in the void. One was in a bright light, the other, draped in shadow. They both stared at the glowing blue orb between them. Earth stood naked in the void, innocent of the history being made around it.

"Such a shame…" the Shadow droned on. His voice was high and scratchy, his tone almost adolescent. The Light narrowed His eyes and glared at Shadow.

"What treachery do you conceive of now, cretin?" Light thundered. Shadow grinned wickedly.

"Oh, those _heroes_ you so enjoyed bringing together… Such a shame that they were lost to the void…" Shadow drawled on, walking closer to the planet before them. Light tensed, sensing a trap.

"They are no more lost than you are." The Light reminded him. Shadow flashed his bright red eyes at his foe.

"Then why do we let them stagnate, frozen in time?" Shadow asked, brushing the planet with his hand. The sky cleared, and the image shifted. Four teenagers fought in battle against a strange creature on the outskirts of a city. A fifth ran from a school, tears streaming down his face.

"Why do we leave them to rot in their world? True, there are others in which they run to and fro, fighting their pitiful battles, but _these_…" He paused for effect, as if considering his words. "I like these!"

The Light lowered His head, sighing deeply. "Do not pretend to care about those children, Lucifer. I still regret their fate."

"Then reverse it!" Lucifer shouted, waving his arms. "Do not tell me that _you_ of all people are powerless to help them! Let them continue their lives, their fate, their destiny!"

The Light's head snapped up, realizing His foe's plan. "You wish to intervene! You wish to bend these innocent children to your will!" The Light moved closer to the planet, as if to strike Lucifer.

"No! I wish to play a game!" He said quickly, stepping back and holding up his hands. The sly grin was still there, though.

"A game?" The Light seemed wary, but listened nonetheless.

"Yes! A game! We froze their world in time because of where their choices had led! My devils had failed in every attempt, even my favorite tool, Slade! What if we changed it? Changed it all? From the beginning! What if…."

Earth stood in the blackness of space, but now alone except for the stars. Almost alone, that is. A large, ugly, red and black starship approached Earth, perusing the local flora and fauna from a safe orbit. But deep in the hold of the vessel, a young girl had other ideas.

A steel door on a cell was being pounded on. The booming of the blows echoed through the ship; something _very_ angry wanted out of that cell. Two guards walked through the dark corridors, not looking forward to having to deal with the unruly prisoner. Their master had abducted many pets to entertain himself for their journey; but the newest addition was by far the most dangerous. Several specimens had already giving up, looking bleakly from their glass enclosures. The two reptilian guards continued their march, gripping their long, spear-like weapons harder. The sound of screams now met their ears. The first guard almost felt pity for the girl; true, she was terribly ugly and unattractive from his standpoint, but he supposed the red haired female might have been attractive to another mammal. The second guard shrugged his wings in annoyance. He was far too old for this, but had no where else to go. He was a soldier aboard the Gordanian general's flagship, and that position held some incentives, but he preferred the battlefields his home world to guard duty any day. They reached the cell in question, neither one wanting to go farther. Two others were already posted there, looking nervous, but glad to see the reinforcements. A small window on the steel door provided the only means of visual contact for the occupant, and as the first guard stared, two green eyes flashed out at him.

"The door will hold?" The first guard asked.

"It must!" One of the Gordanians stationed at the cell answered. The screams grew louder, and the last blow seemed to shake the very ship.

"The alien will be delivered on schedule. Lord Trogaar has commanded it!" The second, older guard reminded them. They all nodded in strict obedience. Lord Trogaar's wrath was far more intimidating than the creature within the cell. At least in theory.

"And if this _thing_ gets loose?" The first guard asked.

"Then Zorg help us all…"

Just then, the glass window cracked, and the steel door flew off its hinges! The door crashed through the corridor, sending the four reptilian guards to the ground. Dazed, the first guard looked up at the prisoner now standing in the doorway. She was dressed in steel plated armor, covering her from head to toe. The folding plates shifted as she breathed heavily, and her flaming red hair seemed to actually combust with her rage. The odd crown she wore, a metallic 'M' shape, rested on the front of her face. Thankfully, the restraints holding her arms together still held, but it was a small comfort.

"Zengtha ru maka! Kek zengtha ror!" She roared. Now that she stood in front of them, the Gordanians realized how small she really was. How had she broken down the door so easily? The four guards slowly climbed to their feet, holding their weapons out in front of them. The alien girl swung her manacled hands at the two closest guards, her roundhouse blow sending them reeling.

"Zengtha ru maka! Kek zengtha ror!" She repeated. Another swing dispatched another Gordanian, with the youngest guard still standing back to the wall, in awe of the creature. His companions hadn't had time to react, she was so fast in her attack!

"Heska vo." She whispered maliciously.

Less than an hour later, the lower portion of the ship erupts in flame, and out of the smoke a smaller ship zooms away. Apparently a fighter, or transport, the smaller ship made a beeline for the planet below, trying to put as much distance as possible between it and the larger ship. Starfire, the beautiful alien captive, was loose on Earth.

Down below, on the planet's surface, Jump City slept peacefully without any knowledge of the battle above. Skyscrapers reached for the ebon sky above, and busy streets hummed with traffic. A small, rocky island sat in the harbor, desolate of any life or structures. For now.

Deep in the city, and down a back alley, sirens are heard as a man dressed in black walks calmly and smugly down the alley. The police cars zoom past the alley entrance, missing their suspect altogether. But, unbeknownst to the man, someone _had_ seen him. A shadow passed over him, causing him to stop.

"Huh?" He asked dumbly. He pulled out a crowbar with his free hand, brandishing it uncertainly. He looked up to the rooftops, wondering if he had been seeing things. Suddenly, a red bladed object flew out of the night and clanged against the crowbar. The thief dropped his weapon, yelling and holding his arm. Was that a birdarang?

"Hey, look, I don't want any trouble, ok?" The thief called out in a stammering way. A black blur drops into view behind him, at the far end of the alley, and he turns to find a pair of pinpoint eyes staring at him from the shadows. They belong to a large bat, one of a thick knot that wings toward him with a great squeaking commotion. Throwing his arms up to protect his face, the burglar stands his ground as they flap past. The next voice, deadly serious, terrifies him even further.

"You should've thought of that before you committed the crime." The dark figure answers. He advances toward the crook before sprinting in. His high kick finds the chin and slides the burglar back! The man ran back toward the interloper, ready to fight back. The new figure backed up a bit and blocked the wild punches arcing toward his head before delivering a chop to the head and a kick to the chest. Down goes the burglar, but the shadow figure isn't done. He bounded up a wall and pushes away for a boost upward. The move carries him over the criminal's shoulders, and he grabs them for a solid body slam. Even this is not enough, as the figure drags the human punching bag up off the ground and throws him into the wall, where he slides down.

"Hey! This isn't your town! Aren't you supposed to be with-" The stammered.

"Just moved here. And from now on, I work alone." Just then, the sound of something zooming overhead drew his focus away from the thief. A bright green streak sliced through the night sky above the buildings. It traced an arrow-straight path parallel to the alley and disappeared behind the buildings on the far side of the street. After it had dropped from sight, a muffled explosion was heard and the pale emerald glare emerged.

The young hero's masked eyes narrowed for a moment; he then regarded the collapsed petty thief. A moment later, the thief was strung up and tied up, hanging from the building, as Robin, the shadowy figure, leapt over the wall at the end of the alley.

Almost a block away, in front of a pizza parlor on the corner, a large crater had been formed in the street. Thick clouds of glowing green smoke wafted up from the crater, apparently from the object that had fallen from the sky. Several curious onlookers stopped their cars and got out for a better look. But then, as the smoke clears, a red haired girl stood panting from the shock of the crash. She glared up at the onlookers, and roared out a challenge.

"Slopforn ivortmat! Slopforn! Ond gudshik zerrole!" She growled at a kid trying to hold his camera steady and take a picture. The shutter clicked, and the flash of light startled the girl. When she opened her eyes, still bright, glowing green, they blazed out at the boy in anger. With another yell, she swung her manacled hands at the crowd and charged! She slammed her fists into the concrete, creating a massive pothole. Those that had stayed to watch the stranger now ran for cover. An unfortunate taxi took the next blow, and was quickly trashed by the furious girl. In a flurry of blows, a row of payphones, a bench, and a streetlight were demolished. Several people on the second floor balcony of the pizza joint ran for cover as the girl started hammering at the columns supporting the balcony. When the assault finally stopped, Starfire stood quietly amid the havoc she has just wreaked in this end of Jump City. Next she lifts her arms and strains to pull them apart, but with no luck. It finally clicks for one onlooker; she was just trying to break the cuffs! With renewed effort, she swung again at the concrete pillars.

"Zop! Yark! Mesnef!" She yelled, punctuating each word with a blow. She had exposed several steel beams inside the pillar now; the balcony wasn't going to last much longer. The column buckled farther and farther on each hit, and the last one caused it to give way significantly. With the support compromised, the balcony fractured along the edge where it joined the rest of the building. However, the stubborn manacles still remain in place. She caught her breath and raised her arms for one more swing, but another red birdarang impacts her crown, knocking it off and catching her attention. She stopped near the column she has just pulverized and glared back toward the source of the attack.

Across the street, standing on the roof of a parked car, is the spiky-haired Robin who stopped her cold.

"Who are you?" He asked loudly, hoping against hope she could understand him.

Instead of answering, she came up into a leap that carried her all the way across the street, leading into an asphalt-wrecking downward swing. He jumped clear in the nick of time and touched down in a backward skid, but one roundhouse after another forced him to keep bobbing and weaving.

Unknown to the two in the street, a blue-cloaked figure, its hood up, stood silently in the shadows. She watched Robin leap high over Starfire and sling a handful of grenades into her face, knocking the girl back a few steps. The robed figure drew her cloak closer around her, hesitant to intervene. Who were these people, and why were they so desperate to kill each other? She wondered.

Out in the street, the smoke from Robin's grenades couldn't quite hide the luminous green pinpoints of Starfires eyes. She hooked one of her feet under a nearby car, and threw it into the air at Robin! The boy gasped in shock and barely dodged the flying car, rolling to his right to avoid it. As the car flew past him, Robin stood to see where the vehicle had landed. A small explosion and shockwave followed its impact against a building.

"Hmm. Stronger than she looks…" Robin said to himself. But in the second it took to follow the car's path, Starfire had leapt towards him and slammed a manacled fist into his jaw! He flew across the pavement, back towards the pizza joint, only to find her jumping in for another hit! He dove out of the way, narrowly missing the blow meant to kill him. He whipped out a metal pole, and twisted it to extend the weapon to its full length. Armed with his staff, he faced the alien girl again. He leapt at her, now the attacker, and cracked the staff against her head! The blow sent her flying into a nearby car, which flattened on impact. He almost felt sorry for her, until his staff disintegrated in his hands. Her skull had shattered it! She stood from the wreckage of the car, smiling maliciously. She cracked her neck and spoke.

"Zota."

She ran forward again, jumping into the air for another attack! But just as she caught air, a giant, _green_ bighorn sheep head-butted her away! She flew into an alley, and Robin stared in shock at the beast beside him. Before his eyes, the animal transformed into a small boy! The newcomer stood ramrod straight and saluted Robin. His skin, as well as his short hair, was a shocking green! A lone, sharp, fang protruded from his lower jaw, and his grin was a little unsettling. He wore a dark purple and black suit, with a mask to cover his upper face.

"Ex-Doom Patrol member Beast Boy, sir! How can I help?" He asked in a high pitched voice. His eyes suddenly popped as he recognized Robin. "Wait, I know you! It's great to see you again, sir!" He had let the salute slip down in his excitement, but now held it up again.

"Well, you can start by not calling me 'sir.'" Robin replied, answering his first question.

"Well, let me just say that it's a real honor to be-"

"Beast Boy, was it?" Robin asked with a sly grin.

"Yes, sir?"

"Duck!" Starfire had recovered from her blow, and now strained to lift a _city bus_ over her head! She threw the thing at the two boys, who quickly scattered.

But now, another figure has joined the action. A large man dressed in a gray sweatshirt walked down the sidewalk, a hood covering his face. At the sight of the battle, he rushed to where the bus was going to land! With incredible strength, the newcomer _catches_ the bus in midair! With a grunt, he set it down on the curb and turns to the three teenagers in the street. Dust had covered the man's black pants and gloves, and he panted as he shouted out a question.

"Yo! Who's here messing up my neighborhood?" He shouted. Beast Boy slid up to the newcomer and pointed accusingly at Starfire.

"She started it!" As he spoke, Starfire recovered enough for one more blow. She hit the pavement with enough force to send the three boys to the ground, and the tremors shook the buildings. But, at last, the ends of the manacles slid off, revealing her hands.

Now partially free of the manacles, the alien girl raised her hands towards the amazed boys and fire off a stream of green energy bolts! The bolts hit the pavement with enough force to kick up dust to hide the three from sight! After a slight pause, the three teens race out of sight as Starfire strafes the street with more bolts, all coming from her hands! One by one, the boys raced through the hail of green blasts, Beast Boy nearly getting his foot shot off in the process. The Starfires bolts ripped into the surrounding buildings, parked cars, a neon billboard, and everything within at least half a mile. The final salvo filled the area with smoke and flames, which drifted away a moment later. After a few seconds to catch her breath, she slumped to her knees; pulled back down the street, where Robin had taken cover behind a smashed bus. Beastboy and the other figure hunkered down nearby behind a dumpster.

"Girl's gonna wreck the whole city." The new figure gasped.

"I won't let her." He punctuated this statement by socking his fist into his palm. "I won't lose this fight."

They came out running, but got barely ten yards down the street before a black energy barrier sprung up to stop them. The three were shocked at the sight of it, and stood still, unsure of what to do. Just as Robin had made up his mind to try and punch his way through it, a shadow emerged on the pavement and hooded figure rose from the ground.

"Maybe fighting isn't the answer." The girl whispered. Her face and body were covered by the blue cloak, and none of them could tell anything about her except for her apparent powers. She glanced off to one side and dispelled the apparition, leaving Robin with a clear view of the kneeling Starfire on the pavement. Robin looked at her, and then the blue-robed figure to his right. He narrowed his eyes and made a decision.

"Stand down." He said with an iron edge to his voice.

"What do you think, you the boss or something?" The man in the sweatshirt asked, looking Robin up and down as he spoke.

"Just give me a chance." Robin asked, eyeing the other guy as well. He started forward, slowly walking up to the girl kneeling on the smoking pavement. At the sight of him, Starfire leapt up and started to swing again, screaming out another alien phrase as she did so.

"Gokta!"

"Easy. My name is Robin, and I don't want to hurt you." Robin said calmly, holding his hands out. He then reached into his yellow utility belt and pulled out a lock-pick. "I just want to help."

"Gokta! Gokta buhovna!" She gasped, breathing heavily. She looked spent, the long fight finally getting to her.

"It's okay. Look." He gently grabbed the manacles and slid the lock-pick into a slot, concentrating as he went to work. For the first time, he could see the girl's face up close, and he realized how pretty she really was. Her crown was still in place, and her flaming red hair was draped over her neck and shoulders. Her piercing green eyes had faded, looking more human now. With a final 'click', the manacles release and slide off Starfire's arms. She massaged her now free wrists with wonder, looking up at Robin.

"There. Now maybe we can be-" He got no farther, as Starfire cut him off with a kiss. She grabbed him by the shoulders, pulled him almost off his feet, and locked lips for a long moment. In surprise, Robin dropped the pick to the pavement, and the other three teenagers behind them stare in wonder. Beast Boy snickered a little, and elbowed the kid in the sweatshirt.

"Dibs on the next alien invader!" He whispered. Just as Robin had started to relax, the girl shoved him back onto the pavement, and spoke English!

"If you wish not to be destroyed, you will leave me alone!" She snarled. Then, just as suddenly as she'd come, she _flew_ off into the sky, leaving the four teens staring in awe on the street. There was a long silence, which was broken by Beast Boy.

"So...I'm Beast Boy. Who are you?" He asked of the sweatshirt-wearing figure.

"Nobody." He said glumly, starting to walk away.

"Hey wait! The way you caught that bus, that was _awesome_! How'd you do that?" The small green boy asked, running after the other kid.

"Look, you don't want anything to do with me! I'm a freak, ok?" He finally ripped back the hood, revealing a half metallic skull! Blue and grey titanium made up half of his bald head, one eye, and extended down to his jaw. His neck was all metal, and they could just see the beginning of a solid titanium torso. Robin and the other girl stared in surprise, but stood firm. Beast Boy, however, was impressed all the more.

"Whoa! Is that Titanium? Is that a laser eye? Do you have any other powers?" The small boy asked, his eyes glazed over like a kid in a candy store. The dark skinned boy merely stood there, as if reconsidering the boy in front of him.

"You aren't scared of me?" He asked shyly. Beast Boy rolled his eyes and laughed.

"Dude! I'm green and can turn into animals! She can make walls out of shadows, and that guy's dressed like he came from the circus! Why would I be scared of _you_?"

"I'm…" He thought for a moment, looking at each person in turn. "I'm Cyborg."

Beast Boy turned to the other two, eagerly awaiting their answers.

"I'm Raven." The blue cloaked girl replied.

"I do not dress like I'm from the circus!" Robin said angrily. Beast Boy blushed and looked down.

"Sorry." Robin softened and nodded.

"It's an old suit." There was a pause, but Robin spoke again. "Look, I doubt that girl is done trashing the city, and I don't take threats well. We should try and track her down."

"No problem." Cyborg pulled back his sleeve and revealed a cybernetic arm. "I've got a sensor in my arm that can track and even imitate sound frequencies, among other things. I heard her voice, and more importantly, her breathing, so I should be able to track her with this."

Robin looked with interest at Cyborg's arm, and nodded approvingly. "Lead the way."

"Wait a minute. I said I could track her, and I want her out of my city. But I didn't say I wanted you guys along with me. I don't work well with others." Cyborg snapped. Beast Boy spoke up again.

"I was in a team once. The Doom Patrol. We worked together to do stuff like this all the time! And it was fun! Teams aren't bad, they're good! Please, please let me hang out with you guys!" He begged, getting down on his hands and knees. Robin raised an eyebrow before speaking.

"Look, I'm not saying we need to start a 'League' or anything, all I'm say is that we need to work together to find her, and I doubt any _one_ of us can take her. After she's gone, we go our separate ways." Robin replied, folding his arms. Cyborg nodded, seemingly satisfied. Raven didn't have anything to say, and Beast Boy nodded vigorously. Cyborg shrugged, and they set off.

Cyborg led the way down the dark streets, his robotic arm beeping and clicking as a holographic display fed information to him. Robin went next, eyes peeled for danger. Beast Boy and Raven hung back, not sure of what to do.

"Hi! I'm Beast Boy!" He said again. Raven smiled a little as he spoke.

"You said that already."

"Oh. Sorry. So how'd you do that thing earlier? With the huge black bubble? That was awesome!" He gushed. Raven blushed and looked down.

"I just… It's hard to explain. Whenever I get angry, or scared, bad things happen. Sometimes I can control it, sometimes I can't." Her blue boots kicked a small pebble into the street, and she eye Beast Boy's animal paw print style combat boots. They all turned down an alley, still following Cyborg.

"Huh, when I get really scared, sometimes I turn into a turtle! But then I get stuck on my back, and someone has to roll me over. One time, I got stuck in a sewer! It took Elastigirl like an hour to fish me out!" He gushed, laughing at the memory. Raven smiled again at the boy, amazed at his innocence. Why was he here? Didn't he know how dangerous this was? If he knew _anything_ about her, he'd run away and never come back. She shook her head as he told another story about a death ray and a T-Rex, only half listening.

"We're getting closer. She's got to be in there!" Cyborg stated plainly, pointing towards a movie theatre across the street. They heard a crash, Robin nodded.

"Sounds like her. Wait, what's that? Everyone get down!" Robin ducked behind a garbage can while Cyborg dove behind a dumpster. Raven had disappeared completely, and only Beast Boy stood ignorantly in the middle of the alley.

"Get down!" Robin snapped, jerking him behind a pile of garbage bags.

"What? What is it…?" He asked quickly, trying to see what was going on.

"Giant alien reptiles carrying energy weapons are coming towards that movie theatre." Cyborg snapped.

"Oh."

"It looks like their tracking her too!" Robin deduced quickly. The three aliens went into the movie theatre, and they all heard a series of crashes and screams.

"I'd say that's a good bet! Come on!" Robin and Cyborg leapt up, running across the street. Beast Boy followed close behind, wondering where Raven had gone. They all burst into the theatre, and took stock of the situation. The girl had been eating all of the candy and popcorn in sight, when the three reptilians had ambushed her. She was now being pinned down by one of them, while the other two fired bursts of red energy at her!

"Let her go!" Robin threw a handful of bladed grenades at one of the, which exploded on impact! Cyborg grabbed the other one, and started squeezing with incredible force! The alien's eyes bugged out, and it collapsed into unconsciousness. Robin delivered a roundhouse kick to finish off his target, and they all turned to the girl. A giant, green, crocodile had latched onto the third alien, and in a second, morphed into an elephant to flatten the poor alien! It quickly turned back into Beast Boy, who screamed and pointed behind Robin.

"Look out!" Three other aliens had run into the store! But just as they started to fire, a black field surrounded them, and threw them out of the theatre! They crashed to the pavement outside, and Raven appeared in the corner, hand raised high.

"Thanks!" Robin gasped, grinning her.

"You are welcome." The red haired alien girl snarled, rising to her feet.

"I wasn't talking to you!" Robin snapped, turning to face her.

"But I was talking to you when I told you to leave me alone!" Starfire roared. Cyborg stepped it, taking off his shredded sweatshirt as he did. The spines on the back of the 'bad' aliens and ripped into him, but were stopped when they hit titanium.

"You were trashing a movie theatre! And we helped you, again, though I don't know why!" Cyborg reminded her.

"I did not need your help!" Starfire shot right back, sticking a finger in his face.

"Hey, don't talk to him like that!" Beast Boy added, getting between them.

"QUIET!" Raven suddenly yelled. They all turned to her, shocked at the outburst. She merely pointed upwards, and they all looked out the windows.

A giant red ship was hovering over the city, and the bottom of it opened up to reveal what looked like a cannon! A holographic image of a giant lizard, like the ones they had just fought, appeared in the sky.

"People of Earth! You have taken something that belongs to me. Return it, at once, and I will consider leaving your city in one piece. Deny me, and I will annihilate everything I see! This particle cannon has the ability to wipe your city out of existence. I suggest you comply. Lord Trogaar, of the Gordanian Fleet, out." The image faded.

"So, after trashing a pizza place and a perfectly movie theatre, now we've managed to make a humongous space gecko mad enough to vaporize our entire town?" Beast Boy asked, going slack jawed at the sight of the ship.

"Go team." Cyborg muttered sourly.

"All the fault is yours!" Starfire yelled. "I commanded you leave me alone, but you insisted upon the being nice!"

"My fault?!" Robin asked, staring her down as he spoke. "You blast me, you kiss me, but you never stop to mention that you're running from an alien armada? Who happen to have a gigantic particle weapon?"

"We are doomed! I can't believe I let you talk me into this!" Beast Boy wailed, looking up at Cyborg.

"Say what?! I was ready to walk before you went all teary-eyed on me!" Cyborg replied.

"Everyone shut up!" Robin yelled, getting everyone's attention. Including the very scared cashier hiding behind the candy counter. "It doesn't matter how we got into this mess. We're in it, and we will get out of it. Together." Slowly, they all nodded.

"Come on. We've got a city to save."

Six Gordanians rushed down a corridor on board their ship, hurrying to carry out Lord Trogaar's orders. Almost before they were out of sight, a pulsing black bubble rises from the floor. The bubble fades, and reveals the five teenagers standing back to back. Beast Boy shivered noticeably, not being used to this mode of transport.

"That dark energy stuff gives me the-" Beast Boy started to say. Raven edged closer and gave him an annoyed glare.

"Uh, I mean, it's cool!" He quickly spits out, sweating a little. Raven lowered her gaze and shrunk back. The Gordanians hustled away around another bend and Robin poked his head out from a doorway.

"We have to get to the firing controls." Robin told them, peering down the corridor. "There can't be much time." Robin, Cyborg, and Beast Boy all filed out down the corridor, but Raven stayed put. Cyborg noticed the girl's absence, and stepped back to look for her.

"Mind telling me why you're always by yourself?" He asked when he saw her, hiding in the shadows.

"You heard the kid. I don't exactly fit in." She answered, referring to Beast Boy's comment. Cyborg shook his head and smiled. He put his hand on her shoulder, and the titanium hand almost crushed her.

"He's green, half of me is metal, and the other girl is from space. You fit in just fine." Cyborg told her. She seemed to brighten at this, and followed him this time.

Farther down the passage, Robin and Starfire paused to get their bearings.

"I bring you...apology." She muttered, not looking at Robin as she spoke. Robin turned to her.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sorry I yelled, too." She smiled at this, and went on.

"And again, you are...nice. On my world, only my K'norfka has shown me such kindness."

"Well, things are different here. We take care of our own." For the first time since she'd been on Earth, Starfire actually smiled. Beast Boy broke their trance.

"Uh, guys?" He said, pointing past Starfire, "I think they know we're here." A squad of charging troops had surrounded them! Cyborg and Raven were near the back, with three angry Gordanians facing them, Robin and Starfire face another four, and Beast Boy stood in the center of the hallway, cringing with fear.

In another part of the ship, Lord Trogaar sat on his throne on the bridge. Two other Gordanian officers sat at their stations, working busily.

"Lord Trogaar!" One of them said, turning to address his captain. "The weapon has reached full power."

"Then begin the firing sequence." The helmsmen did so. The complicated computer display showed a circle of alien numbers, and a countdown began.

"The Earth scum shall learn..." He snarled, standing up as he spoke. "...it takes more than five juvenile heroes to defy the mighty Lord Trogaar!"

A second later, the door to the bridge was blown open! Robin stood in the doorway, a new cut over his eye and another explosive device in his hand.

"We're not five heroes." He informed the alien. "We're one team." Trogaar ditched his triumphant smile in favor of an enraged growl, and in a twinkling every spare deckhand was on the move. Robin led the charge for his side and got in the first hit, a flying kick that nearly snapped a scaly neck. Cyborg slammed both fists to the floor, throwing out a sheet of energy to blast others off their feet; next Beast Boy, as a kangaroo, kicked two in the gut full force. Starfire delivered a supercharged uppercut that sent her enemy crashing to the deck! Beast Boy turned around in time to kick one Gordanian away and lash another with his heavy tail, then resumed his human form again. Trogaar leapt in close, smashing both arms against the deck close enough to send him flying backward with a yell! The only thing that stopped his momentum is an inconveniently placed wall; he slid down it and ended up on the floor in a heap.

"Leave him alone!" Raven stood in front of the boy, throwing up her hands. A shield of black energy rose, and the Gordanian General punched it with his scaly fish. Again and again the blows came, and Raven's knees buckled under the pressure. With a final blow, he finally battered through the defense and prepared to flatten them both. But instead, Robin leapt onto his shoulders; the surprise attack left Trogaar stumbling backward past an underling who had locked up with Cyborg. After a moment, Robin was wrenched free and hurled across the deck; he managed to turns the tumble into a flip and land in a crouch.

It took him only the fraction of a second to leap back into the fray and deliver a crushing left jab that rocked Trogaar off his feet. Even before the latter can hit the floor, he is bashed in a different direction by a steel-soled spin kick, and Robin instantly started into a new move for the coup de grace. Now it's his turn to be caught when the massive hands wrapped themselves around his midsection, and he was hurled past Starfire into the far wall behind the captain's chair. She voiced a shocked gasp upon catching sight of him.

"Robin!" No time to worry about him further; the snarling Trogaar was on his way across the deck toward her. Warming up as she lifted off, she let go with a string of shots that tore into the deck on the way toward him. He was lost under the glare and smoke for a moment, but leapt out of it intact and madder than ever! He grabbed her in midair and bore her to the floor. That giant hand lifted her high and slammed her down again as she struggled to break his hold. She then squeezed off a body-blow energy bolt that forced him to drop her! He stepped back, gasping from exertion. As he backed up cautiously from the one-time prisoner who has turned out to be far more trouble than she is worth, Cyborg rushed across from a pile of unconscious Gordanians. The bionic right lands a powerful blow to the boss's jaw; and the alien landed right in front of Starfire. Both moved in together, ready for more. Trogaar took a merciless flurry of punches to all his sore spots, but even this wasn't enough to put him out of business. He came back with a one-two-three combination that sent both aspiring heroes across the bridge toward the still-prone Robin.

Cyborg's mechanical arm caught his fall, ripping open a circuit board and exposing a few wires.

"Oh, now you've made me angry!" Cyborg snarled. Before there eyes, his hand and arm rearranged themselves into a cannon! He pointed in towards the alien and gripped it with his other arm as he fired. A huge burst of light and sound ripped across the bridge, finally knocking the big reptile down for good. But the rest of his crew wasn't done yet. The now eight strong group of aliens stood for another attack as Raven dragged a half conscious Beast Boy to the group.

"Get away from my friends!" She snarled, holding a hand up. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

Her spell caused most of the bridge to disappear in a mighty explosion! The huge alien ship is now plummeting towards Jump City Bay. The waves caused by its splashdown wash over the area, and when they recede, only the demolished bridge is still above water. And then, a black bubble rose from the sinking craft, and floated to a nearby island. As it faded, the five teens could be seen standing shakily around Raven.

"All right, I'm only gonna say this once." Cyborg said with a grin. "Boo-yah!"

The next morning, all five teens were still on the island. Wreckage and cargo had washed up during the night, where the exhausted team slept among the rock. Starfire had been going through the crates and boxes, while Cyborg and Raven admired the sunrise.

"That's quite a view." Raven said quietly.

"Somebody oughta build a house out here." Cyborg commented, kicking around a scrap of metal that had washed ashore.

"Eh, I guess so. If you like sunshine, and the beach, and all that stuff." Beast Boy agreed, walking up behind them.

"You know, you're kind of funny." Raven said, staring at the younger boy beside her.

Beast Boy's pointy, feral ears perked up. "You think I'm funny?" He demanded, grinning broadly. Raven nodded, still smiling. "Dude! I know some jokes!" Now the smile vanished.

Robin walked up behind then, still shaking off the injuries from the night's battle. Starfire had disappeared behind a large rock mysteriously, so Robin had come to see what the rest of his friends were doing. As if on cue, Starfire cleared her throat behind them, causing them all to turn.

She'd replaced the interlocking armor plates with a lavender and purple tank top looking thing, a short skirt, and knee high purple boots. Her crown was gone, exposing more of her face. For the second time, she smiled.

"I look...nice?" She asked timidly. Robin stared starry-eyed, and nodded yes after a moment.

"I still don't know your name." Robin asked, stepping closer to her.

"In your language, it would be 'Star Fire.'" She answered slowly, as if nervous on how it might sound.

"Welcome to Earth, Starfire." Cyborg said in a friendly tone, mirrored by Raven and Beast Boy.

"I thank you all for your bravery and help, and I wish to ask permission...to remain here." She turned towards the city and waved at it with her hand. "Where the people are most strange..." She turned back to Robin. "...but also most kind." Both looked away, blushing slightly.

"You don't need our permission." Raven told her, pulling back her hood. Her short, black-blue hair fell out and across her pale skin.

"But if you want our friendship, you've got it." Robin continued.

"Guess we could all use some new friends." Cyborg said reluctantly.

"Besides, we kind of made a good team." Beast Boy added, elbowing Cyborg. The sun rose in the sky, and five lives were forever altered. Deep in the void, two figures examined their work.

"It _is_ different." The Light said gruffly.

"Yes, but not _that_ different; not yet! Soon, the fun will start!"


	2. Chapter 2

Episode 1, Divide and Conquer

(**Again, I do not own any of the characters or plots I use here, except for Venator.)**

On the edge of Jump City, the lonely the prison was locked down for the night. It had been a quiet night, but now, something sinister was in the works. Smoke poured from behind the outer wall, and the shattered front entrance, as well as from the bridge leading to the complex. The blaring alarm lights and sirens tell an obvious story; there's been an attack. Either from within or without, but definitely an attack of some kind.

Inside the prison, three guards rush to secure one of the cell blocks. They were dressed in gray body armor, with gas masks built into their helmets. They each carried energy based assault rifles; when you guarded the closest thing to Arkham Asylum in a hundred miles, you needed a lot of firepower.

"Code red! Cellblock Nine! Move out!" The first guard shouted. By the number on his shoulder, he was number 'one'. The other two flanked him as they ran the short distance to the door, weapons at the ready.

"Main yard secure." Number one said into his radio. Just then, a very large object is thrown in front of them, and rolls to a stop.

"There he is!" Number 'three' yelled.

"He'll free the criminals!" Number 'eight' said needlessly.

"Fire!" Number one finally shouted. Their target had already bashed a large hole through the wall of the cellblock and was on the way in. He threw part of the torn-out section at the guards as the laser bullets ripped into him. From the back, the creature was at least ten feet tall, very blocky, and appeared to be built entirely of concrete. The three men recognized Cinderblock when they saw him. Laser blasts from the guards struck the edges of the hole he had made, while a few connect with his back. He turned to them, revealing an equally block-like face with small red eyes. The shots were having no discernible effect on him. Voicing a grating roar, he raised one massive foot and stomped the ground; producing a long fissure that throws debris and dust into the three guards' faces to spoil their aim. Free of the guards, he continued inside the cellblock. He stopped when he heard Beast Boy speak.

"You know, Cinderblock, normally the bad guys break out of jail." The green hero taunted.

"And I can think of five good reasons why you don't want to break in." Robin added. "Count with us!" Robin leapt out of the shadows, landing in front of the villain. "One!"

Starfire swept in and landed, looking sidelong at Cinderblock from over her shoulder. "Two!"

Beast Boy, as a tiger, lunged in. When he came down, he took his human form. "Three!"

Next, Raven dropped in and got ready to cast a spell. "Four!"

Finally Cyborg jumped in. "Five!" The Titans now stood in the cramped cell block, ready to take the giant on.

"No matter how you do the math, it all adds up to you going down. So, are you going to go quietly...?" Robin asked slyly.

"Or is this gonna get loud?" Cyborg finished for him. Cinderblock's only response was to roar, and barrel straight towards them!

"Titans! Go!" Robin ordered, leaping into action. Things started happening very quickly. Beast Boy became a hawk to fly behind Raven and Starfire; Robin and Cyborg run towards the roaring villain. Yelling, the five heroes and the one oversized villain hurtled toward one another.

Cinderblock continued his rush. The Titans do likewise. Robin landed a solid kick that staggered the foe. Cinderblock turned around just in time to catch a double dose of starbolts in the back, courtesy of Starfire. Next, Cyborg aimed a right hook; even though Cinderblock stopped it, he's still driven back by the impact.

Beast Boy dove in and raked his talons across the concrete body time after time, forcing Cinderblock to run to another corner. Raven put herself in his path and levitated a section of the floor, tilting it up until it stood vertical. She then rose out of the way an instant before he crashed through the improvised barrier. As he broke through the barrier, Robin, Cyborg, and Starfire rushed him!

One giant backhand left only Starfire still in motion; the other two had been knocked away. She threw a couple of starbolts, but was then grabbed in two enormous hands and was pulled in with a little gasp for a face-to-face look at Cinderblock. A smile came over her face.

"I am sorry to disappoint you, but I am stronger than I look." She said tauntingly. She proved it by breaking his hold and delivering a high kick that drove him back against the wall. A cry from Beast Boy/hawk is heard, and he swept in again; in an instant, he had hit the ground and transformed into a tyrannosaurus rex! Cinderblock stood still and braced himself before his thundering charge knocked him back with a head butt. With a great effort, Cinderblock wrapped his arms around the T-rex, and picked him up!

"Azarath Metrion-" Raven cuts off the incantation with a sharp, shocked gasp as she discovered Beast Boy's shadow falling over her and saw him dropping from above! His panicked yell was accompanied by the shadow's change to human form. He fell on her like a ton of bricks and was the first to get up, shaking his head to clear it. Raven stood a moment later and grit her teeth in anger before getting herself under control. A lock of hair fell over her face.

"Heh...watch out for falling dinosaurs?" He tried meekly, brushing a bit of rubble off his shoulder. She gave him a hard glance and blew the hair aside. "I'm gonna leave you alone now…" Beast Boy told her, backing away slowly.

Cinderblock chuckled to himself and started to cross the area, but Robin jumped onto his neck and tried to put him in a headlock! Stumbling about at random, the stone behemoth tore a girder loose from the wall. A chunk of concrete from the floor went with it.

"Thrashing only makes me hold tighter!" Robin informed him, gritting his teeth as he clung to the massive villain. Cinderblock raised the girder for a swing back over his shoulder to hit Robin, but missed when the Boy Wonder jumped away just in time! He only succeeded in clocking himself in the head. Cyborg looked at another girder.

"Now there's an idea." He said with a grin. He ripped it free and charged. He and Cinderblock swing at each other, the sound of their makeshift clubs striking each other clanging through the corridors. Cyborg steadily gained ground on the enemy, starting to enjoy the fight. They struggled at close quarters, and Cinderblock pushed Cyborg back in preparation for a mighty swing! It connected, sending the Titan and his girder skidding across the floor. Starfire floated down from above; moving to protect her fallen friend. Her eyes glowed green and starbolts charged on her hands. Cinderblock got ready to swing again, but the quick flash of a starbolt caused the steel to heat and soften in his hands! He grunted in surprise, and she laughed at the look on his face.

Cinderblock grunted and ran down the corridor, heading deeper into the prison. Cyborg was still flat on his back, but got up with a helping hand from Robin and dusted himself off.

"Want to give this guy the Sonic Boom?" Robin asked cagily. Cyborg smiled and converted his arm into its cannon mode.

"I got the Sonic if you got the Boom." Their three teammates regrouped and looked off down the corridor at Cinderblock, running away from them.

"Yo, Rockhead!" Cyborg yelled loudly. Cinderblock stopped and turned around to find Robin and Cyborg running straight at him! They peeled off to opposite sides and went up the walls, then jumped toward each other as the cannon warms up. Whatever they were planning goes horribly wrong, however, as their feet get tangled up and they were left spinning out of control in midair. Finally they flew apart and Cyborg crashed into the wall. His cannon went off, producing a blast of sound and light that engulfed Beast Boy and Starfire. Robin slammed against the other wall; a disc in his hand slid away and detonated at Raven's feet.

Cinderblock, completely unscathed by the fireworks, clumped away, smashing straight through one wall after another in his path. Prisoners stepped out to look after the lumbering colossus, and then started to sprint out the same way he came in.

"Hey, hey, look at this. It's freedom! Let's do it! Let's get outta here! Yeah!" They all shouted. Robin, on his feet and rubbedg his head; the commotion reached him from around the corner, and soon a throng of escaping prisoners was coming straight at him. He whipped out his fighting staff and extended it to full length, and he, Raven, Beast Boy, and Starfire got ready to throw down. As the prisoners are caught by surprise, the Titans let them have it. Beast Boy resumed his T-rex form to terrify them, enjoying it just a little too much.

'Prisoner 385901-Absolute Silence!' Cinderblock's footsteps rumbled and his shadow appeared over the sign. Inside the cell, which was extremely large, a cylindrical glass tank of liquid hung suspended from the ceiling. Within it was the figure of a man, floating erect and clad only in a pair of underwear. The door was smashed off its hinges, and Cinderblock entered and approached the tank. The man inside was in his late thirties, was very thin, and had a shaved head. He was sleeping soundly, even through the noise of Cinderblock's approach.

Cinderblock ripped the entire tank away from the ceiling-mounted apparatus that held it; broken hoses spewed liquid and gases about the cell. He then punched a hole in the floor and jumped through it to make his escape, pulling the tank after himself. Even though the container was briefly stuck and had to be yanked forcibly through the hole, 385901 did not as much as stir in his sleep.

Just outside the entrance of the cellblock, two prisoners ran out in a bid for freedom.

"Let's go, let's go!"

"I think we're gonna make it!"

"Yeah!" They approached the smashed gate in the outer wall-which is promptly closed when the pieces fly back into the frame. The prisoners stopped in their tracks, confused as they stared at the now black pieces of concrete.

"Huh?" A swirling portal appears in the wall, and Raven floated through the newly repaired wall.

"Think again." She said calmly, with just the slightest hint of anger in her voice.

Near the holes Cinderblock had smashed through the walls, guards kept watch as the prisoners returned to their cells, their arms shackled behind their backs.

The Titans stood a ways off, admiring their work.

"Jailbreak? I don't see any jailbreak." Beast Boy joked.

"None of us would have seen one if Cyborg hadn't messed up!" Robin snapped. He looked away as he spoke.

"Me? I messed up nothing!" Cyborg yelled, the anger in his voice quickly rising. Raven, Beast boy, and Starfire all got out of the way. "You got in my way!" He looked away as well.

"You were too far forward, and Cinderblock got away because of it!" Robin snapped back, shouting the comment over his shoulder.

"You saying this is my fault?" Cyborg asked dangerously, turning to face the shorter boy.

"Want me to say it again?" At this point, Starfire popped up between them.

"Stop! No more mean talking!" She commanded, pointing at each boy in turn. They turned their backs on her and each other, as Beast Boy spoke up.

"Yeah. If you two are gonna fight, we need time to sell tickets." He joked lamely. His humor wasn't appreciated by anyone present. He backed off; Raven stepped up.

"Cinderblock escaped. No amount of yelling will change that. So stop acting like idiots, and let's go home." She ordered forcefully. Cyborg and Robin threw each other disdainful glances from over their shoulders. The both grunted, but still followed the girl.

"Loser."

"Jerk." They both whirled around to face each other as they heard each other's comments. "What did you say?!" they both said at once. Raven sighed, Starfire looked worried, and Beast Boy rolled his eyes. Not again, the three thought.

"Do you have a problem, Tin Man?" Robin snarled, getting Cyborg's face.

"Yeah! It's four feet tall and smells like cheap hair gel!" And that's how the fight started. This hit Robin the wrong way, not surprisingly.

"Well, you're an oversized klutz and your feet smell like motor oil!"

"You're bossy, you're rude, you got no taste in music!"

"I don't even know why you're on this team!"

"That makes two of us! I QUIT!" Cyborg shouted. This got their attention. These two words left the rest of the group staring wide-eyed in total shock. Robin hung his head as Cyborg walked away.

Unbeknownst to the five teens, someone else was watching them. And he'd actually laughed at Beast Boy's earlier joke. This was it? These people were the 'Teen Titans' his father had warned him about? Pathetic, he thought to himself. He'd already analyzed them all, conceiving possible weaknesses for each in turn. Robin would have been the easiest to disable; without his toys, he didn't even have any powers! Starfire was shallow, compulsive, and easily distracted. She'd be easy to take down as well, if enough force was applied. Beast Boy… enough said. Cyborg could be effectively tied up with a _magnet_, for crying out loud! But Raven… She interested him. The rest he understood. They had to go. They had provided the distraction for his escape, sure, but they still had to go. But Raven… She interested him, greatly.

And yet another man watched the group, with equal malice. Turning gears and heavy equipment hard at work pounded away in the man's hideout. A large enclosure illuminated chiefly by dim red light held a shadowy figure, seated on a large chair. No features could be seen except the glint of full-body armor and one eye, the left. An overhead fixture poured light down on the seat. This was Slade, though his name was not yet known to the Titans. In the harsh glare, the right side of the head and shoulder show a gray tint, while red-orange appears on the other side.)

Cinderblock stumped into the light and placed the tank containing 385901 on the floor. When Slade spoke, his tone was even and measured.

"Cinderblock. I see your mission was a success. Good. We will proceed with Phase Two. Wake him." The behemoth strained at the metal cap on the top end of the tank and managed to unscrew it, releasing thick clouds of vapor. When they cleared, the occupant began to stir from his slumber.

Through the glass, a startled 385901 opened his eyes. "I'm...awake? I should never be awake! I'm only human when I'm sleeping!" He moaned.

"But for what I have in mind, your human form is useless." Slade leaned forward. "I need Plasmus."

The man's form began to swell and distort within the tank, causing the glass to bulge and finally shatter. What came out was a mass of purplish slime that overwhelmed the nearby Cinderblock, accompanied by more fumes from the liquid inside. Soon, ooze had formed itself into a very large, roughly shaped humanoid with an extremely wide mouth and two tiny yellowish eyes-Plasmus, the form taken by 385901 whenever he wasn't asleep. The reason for the silence warning on his cell's door was now abundantly clear. Plasmus came forward and let off a screeching roar.

The once barren, rocky island near where they'd crashed the Gordanian ship, a new structure rose. A giant, glass and concrete 'T' stood, the sun shining off its many windows. Built from Gordanian steel, the home of the Titans was a miniature fortress. Rising at least twenty stories tall, the building was new and untested, but a perfect hangout for five unruly teens.

In the operations center, Starfire is in the small kitchen. Raven sat studying a bank of computer monitors, and Beast Boy paced on the carpet with a cell phone in hand.

'This is Cyborg. I'm either in the gym, playing GameStation, or kicking bad-guy butt. Leave a message. (Beep.)'

"Hello? Cy? Pick up!" Beast Boy begged. "Come on, Cy, pick up! I know you're there. The phone's built in your arm!"

Starfire was mixing something in a bowl on the kitchen counter, and Beast Boy made the mistake of pacing too close. Beast Boy hung up disgustedly, right before Starfire shoved a spoonful of glop from the bowl in his mouth.

"Taste." She said needlessly as Beast Boy nearly choked. It sent him into convulsions, which ended with him on all fours trying to keep from vomiting. Finally, he spit out the mess and scrubbed frantically at his tongue to remove the last fragments.

"What is that? Cream of toenails?" he shouted.

"Pudding of Sadness." She took a spoonful for herself. "It is what the people of my planet eat when bad things happen." After a monster effort, she got it down and ended up having a fit as well. Raven continued checking the monitors as Starfire brought her the bowl.

"Try. The displeasing taste will ease your troubled mind." Starfire informed Raven. Beast Boy frantically waved 'no' behind her.

"My mind is never troubled. People come, people go. It's pointless to be upset about Cyborg." Raven said with little emotion. However, the monitor in front of her suddenly cracked as black lightening flew from her fingers. She pretended not to notice, but was apparently _very_ upset. Starfire wisely backed away.

Robin stood against the sunlight through the top-floor windows, looking morosely out over Jump City. Starfire flew to him with her horrid concoction in hand, and held the bowl out to him.

"Here, Robin. You must need this most of all since...well..." She let it hang.

"I'm fine." He turned away. "Who knows? Maybe we're better off without him." Starfire lowered her bowl and gazed after him with obvious concern.

Later on, Robin was in the gym, slugging it out with a punching bag. He'd changed out of his red and yellow suit, and had even ditched his black mask. Beast Boy was right; he did look like a clown! With a final punch, the bag moved aside enough for Robin to see the weight set in the corner. It quickly swung back, but Robin let it swing. That was Cyborg's weight set. The barbells were still set to the former Titan's mammoth payload. No one else could have even attempted to lift it.

In the kitchen, Beast Boy hoisted a stack of dirty plates onto the counter by the sink. Many others were already piled up there.

"Yo! Whose turn to do dishes?" He asked loudly. Raven spoke from the computers in the corner.

"Cyborg." Just then, Robin, dressed in sweats, went to the sink and started to wash a plate.

An hour later, he sat alone on the couch, trying to play a video game. He blasted the last fighter out of the sky, and the screen lit up.

"Yeah! Got it!" He shouted, almost jumping at the sight of it. The high-score board was displayed, with five names on the top of the list. Robin's face fell as he read the names.

'Cyborg-1,000,000.'

'Cyobrg-1,000,000.' It went on for a while. Robin gave up and set the controller down disgustedly.

Robin approached the door of Cyborg's room. It opened automatically to show the interior, and he looked slowly around. Bookcases with pictures and a baseball on top, computer desk with a football by the monitor, trophy case in one rear corner, and areas for self-repair and diagnostics filled the room. A large inclined table with a foot-stop at its lower end was in the other rear corner-what the missing Titan used for a bed. Robin entered silently, taking a picture from the dresser. It's of the two of them, laughing, and generally having a good time. Robin set the picture down, speaking softly as he did so.

"I'm sorry." An alarm shattered the silence. Starfire, Beast Boy, and Raven were in the operations center, looking ahead at the giant screen with surprise. A map of Jump City was projected on the window/screen, with a large flashing dot that slowly moved along. Robin ran in and took stock of the situation.

"Cinderblock strikes again?" He asked hopefully.

"You wish." Beast Boy answered wistfully.

Across the darkened city, a chemical factory sat on the corner, its workers long gone. It was now night time. Inside, jets of colored solutions shot down from overhead nozzles and flowed together in a pipeline that snaked across the factory floor. The mixture emerged from its other end and fell into a waiting barrel. Plasmus was at the free end of the conveyor on which it and others are resting. As the belt started to move, he picked up each arriving barrel and guzzled it, growing a few feet taller after each of the first two. The third was hit with a starbolt before he could finish it; the remaining chemicals spilled out the broken end! He lifted the barrel to his eye to peer through it in wonder. The four Titans were waiting for him.

"That stuff can't be good for you." Robin told him, shaking his head in disgust. Plasmus threw the barrel aside and belched, loudly.

" Nice one!" Beast boy complimented, laughing as he spoke. Raven shot him an 'are you kidding me' look.

Plasmus roared and shot gobbets of sludge from his body toward the heroes, who scattered to avoid being hit. Robin jumped and flipped like mad, just barely staying ahead of the barrage, and landed on a crate near a mixing tank!

"Star! Let him have it!" Robin shouted. Starfire obliged with a starbolt, that blew a hole clear through the creature's chest!

"Did I let him have too much?" She gasped, looking worried. She needn't have worried; he sucked in a huge breath, and hole was filled in!

"I'm thinking not enough!" Beast Boy said, both disgusted and impressed at the same time.

Its hand balled into a fist, one gooey arm extended itself toward Starfire, who shrieked as Raven plowed her out of the way. The slimy arm barely misses the two, who fly to safety a few feet away. At the sight of Starfire being attacked, Robin snarled and pulled three red disks from his belt. (He'd changed back into his uniform before leaving the tower.)

"Maybe he just needs to chill!" He threw the disks at the creature, and was glad to see them impact the extended arm. The entire limb froze solid! The owner of said arm looked at it in surprise, and then shattered it against an overhead pipe. Robin jumped for cover, while Beast Boy turned into a pterodactyl and lifted off. Starfire blazed away from above, driving Plasmus back a bit, and Beast Boy executed several punching strikes with his talons. The foe blocked these and retaliated by lashing out with many thick tentacles from the stump of his missing arm!

The Titans cut and run to stay out of the mess. Starfire threw shots every which way to fend off the attack as Beast Boy did a few evasive maneuvers. Now Raven rose into the air.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" She chanted. Several barrels were covered in shadow, and lifted off the ground. Each flew at Plasmus in turn, impacting his great purple mass. His arm, now re-grown, he gathered up the projectiles sticking out of his chest and sent them right back at Raven! She dove for cover as Robin leapt in for a flying kick, only to get that leg stuck in the mire! The other leg followed, and one hand as well when he tried more blows. He struggled to get loose, but was caught fast by the creature.

"Come on! Let me go, you giant zit!" He snarled, trying desperately to free himself.

It only snarled and roared down at him before sending forth a huge jet of slime that carried him screaming along with it. The purple tide washed over Beast Boy-back to human form-as well. Dripping with it, Robin groaned and got up as Starfire rushed over.

"Robin!" She shrieked, kneeling at his side.

"I'm okay...sort of." Robin moaned, spitting out a stream of purple goop. Beast Boy had made it partway to his feet, and dry heaved a few times.

"And I thought Star's pudding tasted bad!" A fresh howl from Plasmus' direction refocused the attention of all four Titans in a hurry.

Far away, the security cameras in the factory sent a live feed to Slade's hideout.

"Disappointing." A short, elderly man stood next to Slade, with Cinderblock hovering closely.

"With one Titan missing, this is almost too easy." He shifted on his chair, his eye narrowing as he watched. "I was expecting more of a challenge. Cinderblock, begin Phase Three." Cinderblock gave an answering grunt, and stumped away with the man following close behind. By the white lab coat and thick spectacles, the man is obviously a scientist of some sort.

Back at the factory, a gush of Plasmus' muck splattered down from above. Starfire stood up from within it and groaned disgustedly.

"I feel like the underside of a Zornian muck beetle." She said, spitting out the last of the goop. Raven stood up next to her.

"Tell me about it." They watch, almost amused, as Beast Boy ran for his life with Plasmus in hot pursuit.

"Dude, I am not on the menu!" He screamed. Just then, Robin's birdarang sailed into view trailing a long line behind it. The grappling hook flew around Plasmus' legs to wrap them up, and Robin is quick to arrive as well. He grabbed the free end of the line and took a few more turns around the giant.

"Maybe the best way to take you down..." He grunted. "...is to tie you up!"

Beast Boy, as a rhinoceros, charged and scored a direct hit that sent Plasmus toppling backward to fall among a group of support columns. Starfire bent one over to pin him, and Raven did likewise with others. He struggled against the bonds as the four inspect the handiwork.

"We did it!" Starfire said excitedly.

"Nice work, team." Robin agreed, staring hard at the purple mess in front of him.

"Yeah. Didn't think we'd pull it off without-" Beast Boy started to say, but Raven cut him off with a punch to the shoulder. He let off a surprised little sheep-like bleat, then laughed and sweat nervously. Robin checked a locator device briefly before tucking it away in his belt.)

"We finished just in time. Cinderblock's been spotted downtown. Come on!" Robin told them. The four Titans turned to leave, but a loud gurgling noise from Plasmus' direction stopped Beast Boy. He turned back.

"Huh?" Plasmus had started to ooze out of his restraints! But, worst of all, it wasn't just _one_ Plasmus anymore! His entire body flowed together and free of the restraints, it shaped itself into a gigantic crab-like creature with one claw! From his other limbs, an octopus-like creature appeared, and a snake-like thing as well!

"Uh...heads up!" Beast Boy shouted. Now having formed a second crab claw, Plasmus rushed at the foursome! They burst out through a set of double doors, making it through and slamming the doors shut just in time. They all leaned against them with all their weight, trying to hold the creature back. Plasmus' snarling and pounding could be heard through the metal!

"Four against five. Not good odds!" Beast Boy told them, straining hard to keep the doors shut.

"Forget the odds. We need a plan." Robin said through gritted teeth. The doors trembled even more violently under Plasmus' assault, and he finally forced them partway open and pushes a tendril out, and then another! Starfire screamed as the opening grew wider and the head appeared!

"Titans! Separate!" Robin yelled. The doors were finally smashed open. Robin, Starfire, and Beast Boy raced in three different directions among the machinery; the latter turned into a cheetah as he runs. Plasmus' snake, separated from the rest of the body, chased Starfire; she turned in midair and bombarded it with starbolts! It lunged and caught her to drag her from the air!

Beast Boy sprinted along the floor, with one of the crab claws in hot pursuit. It opened wide and lashed out a long tongue that snared him! He broke loose by turning into a gorilla, but was knocked off his feet by a flying tackle!

Raven, meanwhile, flew along as the octopus chased on the ground. She exerted her powers over all the machinery there, causing the bolts and screws to fall out, and the loosened vessels toppled into the aisle one after another! The octopus swerved and slid to miss several of them, but is finally hit broadside. She looked back smugly, only to find that it has recovered and placed itself directly in front of her! There was only time for one shocked gasp before it reared up to strike!

The remaining Titan, Robin, had kept on going full steam among the other process equipment. The other crab claw was after him and not letting up. He reached a set of double doors. Lurid green light rose from the direction of the floor. Something broke his fall, and he found himself carried along in midair as he rubbed his head. With a shock, he realized he was on a moving conveyor belt above several large vats of glowing chemicals.

The crab claw landed behind him and pulled back to strike! Robin had his staff out in a snap and delivered several blows that merely splatter through the purple goop. The end was caught and broken off, but he simply extended the other end to make up for the lost length and swung again! This time, his weapon was not only blocked but dashed from his hands to go spiraling over the vats. Going into classic kung fu mode, he backed up a few steps, and lunged for a high kick.

Starfire, still held fast by Plasmus' snake portion, struggled to get free. It wrapped a coil around her head and squeezed itself together into a large ball, cutting off her air! Without warning, a lash of red energy flayed the creature quite nicely, and Starfire fell to the ground in a heap. Beast Boy-back in human form-and Raven run into view, free at last from their respective attackers.

"Did you…" Starfire asked, panting as she looked at Raven. A very startled Raven shook her head no, and Beast Boy raised an eyebrow.

"Then who…?"

Back on the conveyor belt, Robin steadily backed up before the opponent's advance. It soon threw itself on top of him to pin him to the belt's surface! The Boy Wonder struggled mightily as both are swept toward the free end, which hung over a bubbling vat. He went partway over, then smiled wickedly and flipped the claw backward off the precipice! Unfortunately, he miscalculated and had to grab the corner of the belt to keep from going down with it! The housing started to pull loose, and as he looked down, Robin caught sight of the creature hanging onto his boot! Robin strained with all the power he could put into his one-handed grip, but the conveyor had had all it could take. His fingers slid away from the ripping material to leave him plummeting toward the last bath he will ever take!

Out of nowhere, a familiar bionic arm shot into view and grabbed his wrist! The sudden motion caused the creature to lose its grip and fall into the vat below, while a smiling Cyborg pulled Robin back up onto the belt.

"I still got the Sonic if you still got the Boom." Cyborg said with a smile. Robin returned the smile; the feud between the two had ended as soon as it had begun. On the factory floor, Plasmus' other four body parts had reassembled themselves and the other three were nowhere to be seen. Plasmus laughed nastily, but stopped short when Robin and Cyborg square off against him.

"Titans, go!" Robin and Cyborg yelled at the same time, charging forward! They each ran forward, ran up the walls, and Cyborg fired his cannon as Robin threw three explosive disks in the same direction! The blast from Cyborg's cannon detonates the bombs, and the combined shock wave obliterated Plasmus! When the smoke cleared, 385901 was dozing among the slop and snoring fitfully.

Beast Boy, Raven, and Starfire all arrived as Cyborg and Robin were admiring their handiwork. All were covered in purple slime, and Beast boy was already trying to wipe it out of his hair. Robin and Cyborg looked down at the frail man who had just inflicted so much damage on the factory.

An hour later he was being loaded onto a truck for the return trip to prison. He had contained in a new tank, and was still sleeping peacefully.

"Look, uh...sorry about..." Robin stuttered.

"Yeah." Cyborg replied casually.

"So...are we cool?"

"Frosty." A smiling Cyborg said, holding out a fist. The two bump fists and are joined by the rest of the team.

"You made up! Glorious! I wish to initiate a group hug!" Starfire announced, arms wide.

"Pass." Raven snorted, backing away slowly.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, warm fuzzies all around. But we still gotta stop Cinderblock!" Beast Boy reminded them, wiping another glob of goop off of his uniform.

"No, we don't." Cyborg said coolly, glancing back at Robin. "Thought I'd bring a present, 'case you were still mad." He gestured behind them at Cinderblock, who is being hoisted up on a winch-with the equipment he had been carrying in Slade's lair wrapped around his body to bind him. The stone villain grumbles angrily.

"Thanks. But there is one thing that's still bothering me." Robin said, rubbing his chin. Raven, Beast Boy, and Starfire first react with surprise, then go wide-eyed in disbelief that anything could be bothering Robin at this point.

"Breaking into jail? Using Plasmus to distract us? The whole plan seems to be a little too smart for Cinderblock." Robin said, ignoring the relieved sigh from the other three.

"I've been thinking the same thing." Cyborg agreed.

"Someone must have been pulling the strings. But who?"

"Well, whoever they are," He paused to look up at the full moon above them. "They're no match for the Teen Titans!" (He and Robin traded a high five.

A teacup and saucer rested on a table. A fist was slammed down, breaking them, after which a pair of white-gloved hands reached down with a small broom and dustpan to sweep up the pieces. He had a fresh cup, which he set on the arm of his employer's chair. Slade was once again seated and lit as before. Despite having just lashed out, his voice retained its control.

"Next time my plans will succeed. And the Titans will pay."

As he watched the two villains being loaded in the prison transports, the other shadow figure laughed to himself. Did they really think it was over? The fools. If he hadn't been there to save them, they'd all be dead! Who else could have tripped Cinderblock at the right time to give Cyborg and edge? Who else could have sliced through the slime creatures to save the rest of the team? Who else could do it all and still remain hidden? Fools, every one of them. This would far easier than he thought. Slade concerned him, but only slightly. His father had told him all about _that_ one. Venator sighed to himself. Yes, this would be almost _too_ easy.


	3. Chapter 3

(**This is the latest of the stories, with much more of Venator's involvement. I'm developing the character into something much larger, and altering the story line in much more drastic ways. I hope you all enjoy it, and please, post comments! I don't know what i'm doing wrong if no one tells me.)**

Two being stood in the void, once again studying the Earth below them.

"Oh, so good to see their world moving again!" Shadow giggled, overcome with glee. The Light wasn't impressed.

"I have never seen you so happy to see life continue. What again is your interest in this world?" He asked cautiously. Shadow shrugged looked bored.

"Oh, you know, things to blow up, lives to ruin, all that jazz. And look what we have here!" Shadow pointed to a ship coming into Earth's orbit. It was different than the Gordanian vessel, but not many details could be seen. "The Space Police, here for Blackfire, but taking Starfire by mistake! Oh this should be… What!?" Shadow suddenly grabbed at the planet for support and stared wide-eyed at the scene. The ship had stopped dead, and with a quick snap of Shadow's fingers, the inside of the ship was visible. The captain of the ship, a heavily armored humanoid, stood on the bridge with another figure.

"Venator? What are you doing down there?" Shadow yelled. The other figure on the bridge stopped talking, and glanced up at Shadow. A voice filled the void.

"My duty."

"This is _not_ your duty!" Shadow roared, his eyes glowing dangerously.

"You told me to do as I please. My mission will be completed, but I wish to do this." Shadow groaned audibly, and dispelled the vision of the alien ship. The Light seemed amused.

"What, do your followers disobey you?" He thundered, on the verge of laughing. Shadow shot him a nasty look.

"My follower do as I wish! As it happens, I wish my followers to be _happy_…" Shadow said with obvious loathing. They watched for a moment more as Starfire's sister, Blackfire, flew into Earth's atmosphere.

"Oh, there she is! My favorite niece! Oh how I adore her! Too bad Venator has other ideas…" Shadow said lazily. They watched carefully, and the vision grew more real…

Robin and Starfire watched the night sky, where a fireworks show was in full swing. From on top of the carnival-Ferris wheel, the view was spectacular. Starfire watched the pyrotechnics with complete awe and sighed blissfully.

"Beautiful. Tell me again what they are called." She said dreamily. Another burst of blue and red sparks lit up the sky.

"Fireworks." Robin replied, concentrating more on the show than the girl beside him.

"On my home planet, such explosions would mean the Gordanians were attacking. You are certain Earth is not under attack?" She asked nervously, giving the sky a quick glance.

"Positive. Cotton candy?" He held out a wad of the fluffy pink stuff, but Starfire gave it a strange look.

"The last time I ate a ball of cotton, it was white. And it did not taste very-"

"This is different." He pulled off a wad and popped it into his mouth; cautiously, she followed suit and realized it was indeed different from the cotton ball.

"Mmmm..." She suddenly yelped in surprise. "It vanished!"

"Yeah. It'll do that." Robin chuckled.

"When I first came to this planet, I did not think I would ever fit in. Earth was full of strange things. But now I see that-"

"Here comes the finale! Yes!" Robin cheered, eyes wide at the sight. Great arcs of red and yellow fireworks lit up the entire carnival! "Whoo-hoo-hoo! Amazing!"

Starfire brushed a strand of hair out of her face and nodded. "Earth is full of amazing things too."

"Best planet I've ever been to." Robin joked, sitting back down in the box.

They were both in plain clothes, not wanting to draw more attention that necessary. Robin wore a pair of black jeans, a zip-up sweatshirt, and some floppy tennis shoes. They had all long ago traded 'secret identities', though there wasn't much to tell. Robin was also Dick Grayson. He had no living family, his only friends lived in the same house with him, and his job kind of explained itself. But it was odd at first to see the spiky-haired hero without the mask and suit. Starfire didn't have to change much; she was wearing a pair of loose jeans and a slightly baggy tee-shirt, with her long hair falling loosely down her back. Her 'real' name was Koriand'r, and her only family lived in another solar system! She didn't have much of an identity to hide.

Cyborg was really Vic Stone; he'd had a terribly accident a few years back, and had been given the robotic upgrades by a little known scientist. He stood out a little more, but he was actually starting to enjoy the attention. He was down in the arcade, beating every game he could in one night.

Beast Boy was actually Garfield Logan, and he alone _needed_ to keep that a secret. His mother was still alive and well, just living in another city. When he was much younger, he and Robin had had met under very strange circumstances. Garfield had been injured by government soldiers, and needed a blood transfusion. One of Robin's old friends, a Martian named Megan, had given him _her_ blood. The result was that Garfield's skin turned green, and he gained some of the Martian's shape-shifting abilities. He'd gone off on his own, and escaped the horrible tragedy that Robin had been forced to witness. But that was almost forgotten by Robin now. Garfield/Beast Boy had liberally applied some makeup to appear _almost_ normal. The ears were still pointy, and he was still Beast Boy. There was no getting around that.

And then there was Raven. Raven had stayed back at the tower, not wanting to go anywhere near a carnival. She didn't have much of a secret identity at all. She was Raven. That was her name, and she didn't have another one. She wore something that looked almost like a one-piece swimming suit under her cloak, and she hated the idea of wearing anything else.

"Thank you, for this. I have enjoyed it greatly." Starfire told Robin as the car came to rest on the ground. They both hopped out and walked down the main thoroughfare.

"So have I. I wonder what the rest of the guys are doing?"

"Robin! There you are!" Raven suddenly appeared and flew over to them, blue cloak flying in the wind. Robin had never seen her upset, but she looked… disturbed.

"What's the matter?"

"Something's… wrong. Something's different here." Raven said slowly, as if saying it was an effort. Robin raised an eyebrow, and even Starfire looked confused.

"Different? What do you mean?" Robin asked, trying to guide the trio away from the crowd. Raven shook her head and rubbed her temples.

"I don't know… maybe it's nothing. Never mind." Without another word, she zoomed off into the night, back towards the tower.

"That was… unusual." Starfire said hesitantly.

"Even for Raven, yeah, that was weird. Hey, let's try the bumper cars!"

An hour later, all four Titans had returned to the tower, still excited from all of the games.

"And then the guy was like 'grrr!'" Beast Boy was still saying, grinning broadly as he told the story. Again.

"And I was like, Boo-yah!" Cyborg finished, grinning even wider.

"That was totally awesome!" Beast Boy yelled. He ran into the kitchen and grabbed a huge container of ice cream out of the freezer.

"Thank you all for the wonderful night! Come, friends. I shall thank you for my rescue by reciting the Poem of Gratitude-all six thousand verses!" Starfire fairly shouted. The other three Titans froze in place and looked slowly at Starfire.

"Uh, that's ok…" Beast Boy started to say. But then they all jumped as another girl walked through the front door.

"I see you haven't changed a bit!" The girl said icily, nodding at Starfire. She was tall, skinny, muscular, and was dressed in all black. Unlike Starfire, her waist-long hair was jet black. She was also stunningly attractive, and all three of the guys noticed that much as soon as they saw her.

"When we were little, I was always rescuing Starfire." She crooned, looking slyly at her sister. With a laugh, both girls ran and hugged each other tightly.

"Sister!" Starfire shrieked, grinning widely.

"Brought you a present." Blackfire said as they broke their hug. It was a gigantic, golden necklace with a pulsing green gem as a centerpiece. Starfire gasped at the sight of the necklace, and even Beast Boy could tell it was valuable.

"A Centauri moon diamond?! Where did you get-"

"On the Centauri moons, of course. Oh, look, it matches your eyes!" Starfire beamed, looking for a long moment at the large gem. She suddenly realized her friends were still in the room, and turned to them with a massive smile.

"You must meet my friends!" Starfire gushed, dragging her sister over to the boys. As she did so, Raven appeared in the corner, mildly interested in the newcomer.

"I wish to introduce my big sister!" Starfire was saying loudly.

"Blackfire." The girl said in a deep tone, obviously eyeing Robin. "And since Star told me all about the Titans in her transmissions, let me guess." She exaggerated a thoughtful look and pointed at each Titan in turn.

"Cyborg!"

"Pleased to meet you, little lady." The big guy said coolly, holding out a hand to shake. He grunted with surprise as the 'little lady' disjointed three of his fingers in the handshake! "Little lady, big handshake. Well, all right."

"Raven. I like that gemstone on your Ajna chakra." She said in a much different voice. It was almost, respectful. Raven perked up at the girl's voice, and pulled back her hood to show off the gem embedded in her forehead.

"You...know about chakras?"

"Oh yeah. I got way into meditation on Altara Prime." With a twirl of her long hair, she turned to the green boy on her left.

"Beast Boy! What's up?" She laughed, imitating a 'surfer dude' voice, which made Beast Boy's eyes grow even wider.

"Nothing but the ceiling, baby." He tried to flirt, but ended up making both Tamaranean's laugh a little at the attempt. (Blackfire and Starfire.)

"Good one!" Blackfire managed to spit out.

"See? She thinks I'm funny." Beast Boy bragged to Raven. Raven only rolled her eyes.

"Statistically, I suppose someone has to." She said a little more openly. How bad could the girl be, she wondered. Finally Blackfire made her way to the leader.

"And you must be Robin!" She snatched a spare birdarang out of the pocket of his sweatshirt and opened it with a twirl of her fingers. "And I am loving these things! I bet it'd cut right through these walls!" She gushed, her voice regaining the deep, almost flirtatious quality. Robin took the bait in a heartbeat.

"Thanks. They're high-density collapsible titanium, ten times stronger than steel. You should see what I can do with _two_ of them!" He bragged, gently taking the weapon back.

"Fascinating." She crowed. Starfire's eyebrows shot up as Robin took out a spare mask to show her sister, bragging about the glue he used to keep it in place.

"And this mask makes you look very mysterious!" She would have said more, but Starfire inserted herself very firmly between the two.

"So, beloved sister, what brings you to Earth?" She asked, folding her arms as she spoke. Blackfire laughed and plopped down on the large red sofa in the room.

"I was in the quadrant. Thought I'd see if Earthlings like to party." She hopped over the back and sat with her legs crossed. "Besides, I needed a rest. Nearly got sucked into a black hole on the way here." She told them, acting completely unconcerned with the danger. All three boys were at her side in a heartbeat. Raven and Starfire alone stood near the kitchen, confused at the boy's behavior.

"Black hole?"

"No way!"

"Cool!"

"Okay. I'm cruising through the Draconis Nebula, and-" Blackfire started, laying the drama and emphasis on like mortar on a line of bricks.

"Sister! That nebula is full of black holes! You know travel there is forbidden!" Starfire interjected, looking completely lost. Why would her sister have done something so stupid? She wondered. If anything, the three boys looked annoyed at the interruption.

Blackfire rolled her eyes and continued. "Most fun things in life are. Now be a sweetie and bring me one of those sodas I've heard so much about." She turned back to the boys after placing her order. "So anyway, I'm zooming over an event horizon, approaching light speed, when all of a sudden…" Starfire was done listening and walked into the kitchen to get her sister's drink. Raven met her behind the counter, only half listening to the story.

"I see you have not changed either." Starfire said to herself. Raven caught the comment and raised an eyebrow.

"You two don't get along?" Raven asked quietly. Starfire looked back at the girl sitting on her couch.

"When we were young girls on Tamaran, I was the responsible one. I did my duty, and everything that was required of me. Blackfire was the 'fun' one. She alone avoided responsibilities, leaving home at a young age. While I stayed on my world to fend of the Gordanians, Blackfire had already chased halfway across the galaxy by their tracker ships. And yet…" She paused, as if searching for the right words.

"And yet, she's the one that gets all the attention." Raven guessed. Starfire nodded her head, surprised that the other girl understood. "I don't have any siblings, but I'm not stranger to taking the backstage. My powers are dangerous; I _have_ to stay away from other people. But I do understand what you mean. Don't worry." Raven shot Starfire one of her few smiles. "They'll get tired of her soon enough. It's obvious she enjoys the attention, and even Beast Boy will figure that out. They'll be back." Starfire nodded, wishing it was true. She reached into the fridge and got the soda, wondering how long it would really take for that to happen.

Venator was having a bad day. He wasn't supposed to be here, on this ship. But he needed to be. He thought. He folded his arms behind his back, uncomfortable at being the center of attention for so long. The alien captain, a gruff and stiff man, was standing in front of him. Venator sighed inwardly when he saw the captain start to speak again.

"You wish me to believe that my target has an almost identical sister, who is now in possession of the stolen merchandise?" The captain asked, again…

"Believe what you wish. I have told you the truth. Ask anyone; the Tamaranean princess was _not_ an only child. Think about it. Why would an intergalactic thief just sit around and do nothing after pulling off a heist? Starfire, the red haired one, is innocent. Her sister is the criminal, and she's the one that needs to be captured. Blackfire is a menace; your officers will tell you that." Venator reminded him. The dark haired teen had actually handed this fool his prize, but the girl had escaped. How hard was it to hold a Tamaranean, after all? Venator had captured her _alone_, for darkness' sake!

"This may be the truth." The captain admitted. He turned to the bank of windows to their right. "What do you advise I do?" Venator smiled at his question.

"Let me go in and flush her out. I'll either drive her right to you, or I'll capture her myself. Either way, one 'human' is seen on Earth, and none of your enforcers are in trouble for breaking galactic code. There may be aliens living on Earth, but these humans are still protected under the Lower Species Directive. Look how the Gordanians have suffered for their mistake!" Now he had the man's attention.

"You really believe you can do this?"

"Seduce and capture a hormone addled girl? Please. I've done it before, and I'll do it again. Just be ready with a stronger cell than before." Venator started to walk off the bridge, but was stopped by a final question.

"Why are you doing this, stranger?" The captain asked him, as if on a whim. Venator smiled for the first time in months and turned to face the man. In the red lights of the bridge, his pale white skin looked almost orange. His black eyes seemed to bore into his target, and the knowledge behind them seemed to haunt him.

"Because I want to. I need to. Things are going to happen, Captain. Bad things. And I'm going to cause most of them. But I want my prey to be strong when I take them." He took a breath and went on. "If Blackfire isn't on Earth, it won't bring the Titans closer through her negative influence. Weak Titans means weak prey. And I prefer my prey strong, and healthy."

"Sister?" Starfire wandered down the halls of Titan's Tower, looking in vain for Blackfire. She still wore the golden necklace; even from her sister, the necklace was beautiful.

"Sister?" She poked her head around a corner, still not seeing her sister. "Sister, I seek your companionship." She wandered into the operations room, and saw Beast Boy and Cyborg playing video games on the couch.

"You want to pass me, but you can't pass me. You can't pa-" Cyborg stopped his rant and Beast Boy grinned. "You passed me!"

"Tighten the turn...jets...and nitro!" Beast Boy said with a cat-like grin. He jumped up and did a laughing victory dance as Cyborg slumped over. Starfire walked up behind them when the dance was over.

"Tell me, have either of you seen Blackfire?"

"Blazin' B? She was here just a second ago." Beast Boy told her over his shoulder. The game continued with Beast Boy's rocked car taking the lead. His face went slack as Cyborg grinned, they were _very_ into the game.

"Aw, yeah! Back in the lead!" Cyborg said with a giant grin. Starfire watched carefully, starting to get into it as well.

"What fun! May I join your game?" She asked hopefully.

"Winner plays Blackfire." Cyborg said without turning.

"Yeah. She rules at this game." Beast Boy said dreamily. He was obviously smitten with the older girl.

"I see." She started to walk away, but a shadow passed over the window to her right. She turned at the motion, and Cyborg seemed to slump a bit. His car crashed into the guard rail and the 'game over' sign was displayed.

"You know what? Blackfire isn't here. Sit down girl, I'll show you the ropes!" Cyborg said suddenly, standing up and handing off the control to Starfire. The elated girl plopped down on the couch as Cyborg went over the controls and Beast Boy bragged over his victory.

An our later, a stunned Beast Boy and a laughing Cyborg watched as Starfire typed in her name on the high score board. She soon walked down the hall, still looking for Blackfire. She came to Raven's door and knocked softly. It opened a crack, and Raven's eyes peered out.

"Is...my sister in there?" Starfire asked hopefully. She was still excited over the game, but quickly sobered at the thought of seeing her sister. Raven shook her head.

"No."

"Oh...Might you wish to hang out with me? We could visit your favorite depressing cafe." Starfire offered. When Raven left the Tower at all, it was to go her favorite café. Depressing poetry was read, tea of all kind was served, and no one was stupid enough to flirt with her.

"Already been. It was open mic and Blackfire wanted to share. Your sister's poetry is surprisingly dark." Raven said with a strange look. She closed the door and Starfire kept going. There was another red glint, and Raven opened the door again.

"Starfire? Wait." Starfire whirled around at the sound.

"Blackfire was ok, but I still prefer seeing you beating up those punks in the alley any day. I heard she was down in the gym with Robin, though. You might want to check there." Raven told her. Starfire nodded a thank you and continued on. Raven went back to her room, and resumed her levitation. What had just happened? She wondered. She'd only seen Starfire at that café once, and Raven had been annoyed at her presence. Why had she said…?

Through the open door to the gym, Starfire could see the shadows of Blackfire and Robin on the wall. They were close enough to touch, and they did so on as Starfire watched.

"That's perfect, Robin…" Blackfire fairly moaned. Starfire gasped as they appeared to kiss! "Hold me just like that, and..."

Blackfire threw him the full width of the room; he spun in the air a bit before coming down on top of a rack of dumbbells. Starfire was positively aghast at the sight, but hadn't seen the whole thing. When Robin peeled himself up from the floor, he was badly dazed from the impact.

"Learned that move from a Ven-Zo master on Tyrus Three." Blackfire explained, watching as the boy slowly rose from the floor.

"Hello, Robin..." Starfire said loudly, finally understanding the scene as she walked in. "...and...my sister. Am I interrupting?"

"Not at all. Blackfire was just showing me some alien martial arts. How come you never taught me these cool moves?" Robin explained, catching his breath and throwing a towel over his shoulders. Blackfire seemed a little annoyed at the interruption, but only Venator could see the pleased look on her face. He hovered just outside, looking down on them from a tiny window.

"Probably because she doesn't know them. I always was the better fighter." Blackfire answered for her sister, and grabbed Robin's shoulder. Come on. I'll show you the technique I once used to stop a raging orthax!" She almost ordered. Robin was still breathing heavily and quickly resumed a fighting stance.

The next day, all of the Titans except for Starfire were seated on the couch. Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Robin were all watching a movie, while Raven read an old book.

"Friends!" Starfire shouted, walking in to the room. She was balancing buckets of popcorn and candy as well as a stack of DVD's.

"I invite you to join me in the togetherness of a stay-home movie night. I bring you popcorn and non-cotton candies. Tell me, what sort of movie shall we view?" She asked, walking up to the couch. Robin clicked off the boring TV show and looked eagerly at Starfire.

"Action!" Robin said eagerly.

"Comedy!" Beast Boy said, just as eagerly.

"Sci-fi!" Cyborg said with a quick look at the popcorn.

"Horror." Raven said quietly, not looking up from her book. Starfire looked surprised, but quickly rolled with it.

"Perhaps a double feature?"

"Forget the flicks, kids." Blackfire asserted, stepping into sight. She stood in the doorway, dressed in some of Starfire's clothes! She'd dispensed with the steel armor, and now wore Starfire's signature tanktop and short skirt, as well as a long pair of boots.

"We're going out!"

"We are?" Starfire asked in a confused tone. Blackfire passed her and stood in front of the couch. "Where did you-? Are those my-?"

"Heard about a party downtown. Cool crowd, hot music." Blackfire told the rest of the group, calmly ignoring her sister.

"Yeah!"

"I'm in."

"Why not?" Robin asked, shrugging his shoulders. Raven wasn't impressed, and didn't answer.

"And it's in a creepy run-down warehouse." Blackfire told them, putting the icing on the cake. Raven's book snapped shut and she stood.

"Whoo!" Cyborg whooped, jumping up as well.

"I am a party animal!" Beast Boy bragged, turning into a gorilla and beating on his chest. Blackfire smiled almost wickedly and led them out the door.

"Hey, sweetie, raided your closet. Hope you don't mind me borrowing your look." Blackfire said as an afterthought to Starfire. Starfire waited until they were out of earshot before speaking.

"Why not? You have already borrowed my friends."

The exterior of the creepy run-down warehouse Blackfire mentioned didn't disappoint. It is nighttime, and a thumping dance beat could be heard within as multicolored lights pulsed at the windows. The inside was packed with partying teens. Blackfire made her way among the crowd, with all Titans except Starfire close behind. Beast Boy had returned to human form, thankfully. They'd all changed into their 'uniforms' for the party, and they actually didn't stand out in the strange crowd.

"Step aside, Earthlings, the queen of the galaxy has arrived!" Blackfire shouted, throwing her hands in the air as she spoke. Raven looked back the way they came and saw Starfire standing at a distance. The fifth Titan moved hesitantly through the dancers and got jostled back and forth by the dancing teens. She was obviously about as comfortable as a cat in a water park.

"Oh...excuse...oh...uh..." Someone stepped on her foot, hard. "Ow! You really should apologize after stepping on someone's foot!" Starfire scolded. The guy who had stepped on her shot her an 'are you kidding me' look and ignored her. Blackfire was already dancing in the center of the room, and drawing a lot of attention at that.

"Now don't tell me you big tough superheroes are afraid of a little dancing!" Blackfire taunted. Beast Boy and Cyborg were obviously having fun, though there were one legged gorillas that could dance better.

"Betcha Cyborg can do the Robot." Beast Boy predicted.

Blackfire danced across the screen in front of the pair, after which they and Robin started to get into the spirit of things. Raven and Starfire watched, the former with the same posture and expression she wore all the time. Silent and disapproving, with a hint of condescension. A Goth boy walked up and tried to flirt with her.

"This party is pointless." Raven muttered.

"Everything's pointless. Wanna go talk about it?" The boy asked casually. Raven shot him a look and Starfire almost laughed.

"Pass." The rejected boy walked away without another word. Starfire and Raven were about as different as could be, but they both read each other's mind and giggled at the idiot. Another genius walked up with a group of friends and started working on Starfire.

"Hey, hot alien girl. You digging the scene?" The tall, skinny guy asked over the music.

"I...did not know we were supposed to bring shovels." Starfire blushed nervously as she answered, and the group stopped to look at her.

The two slackers laughed themselves silly at the poor girl's expense. Raven stepped up to tell them off, and the poor guys soon retreated.

Five minutes later, Blackfire wandered into the back, into what appeared to be the 'D.J.'s booth' looking for something to drink. She examined different bottles out of a refrigerator, but froze when she heard a voice.

"Blackfire, good to see you again." Venator said calmly, stepping out of the shadows. Blackfire whirled around, eyes wide, and red starbolts charged on her hands.

"You again! What do you want?" She snarled.

"A lot of things. But for the moment, why don't we just talk?" Venator asked, holding his hands up. She narrowed her eyes, but dropped the starbolts. She could always kill him later.

"So tell me, where's the necklace? The one with the _stolen_ Centauri moon diamond?" Venator asked coolly, leaning against the wall as he spoke. The room was small, with a window on their left to see the party beyond. There was a strange silence, but Blackfire hadn't noticed.

"That thing? I dumped it on my sap of a sister." She said tauntingly.

"Ok… why?" Venator asked, faking confusion. Blackfire rolled her eyes.

"Isn't it obvious? The Galactic Enforcers are looking for a Tamaranean with a shiny bauble around her neck. And now they have one! I can ditch this dump and be back on the loose as soon as I'm done here! I _am_ interested in that 'Robin' character after all…" She drawled on, pretending to pick something from under her nail. Venator nodded.

"Makes sense. So you really didn't come here to visit, did you? Well, you've made two mistakes." Venator explained slowly. He counted off each one on his fingers. "First and foremost, you admitted all of this into a microphone." He nodded a nearby, inconspicuous microphone. Blackfire's eyes grew wide, and they both looked through the window at the party beyond. The teens were confused as to why the music had stopped, and all of the Titans were staring right at them. Venator was hidden from sight, but Blackfire was in plain view. She snarled and recharged her starbolts.

"And two, you came here. You messed with them. That's a big no-no. So, I'll make you a deal. Come quietly. We'll turn in the stolen gem and go home, no harm, no foul." He asked, grinning slightly in the dark. There wasn't any decent response.

"Alright then. Have it your way!" Venator went from a relaxed stand to a leap in an impossibly short time, and flew through the air at Blackfire! She threw a charged starbolt, the energy of it illuminating the small room. Venator _caught _it, and threw it back where it came from! Blackfire crashed through the outer wall and landed hard on the concrete. A second later, a black silhouette stood in the hole where she'd flown through, his hands glowing red.

"Come on, don't make this harder than it has to be!" Venator teased, actually enjoying himself. Blackfire snarled and swung at him! Venator didn't move until the last second, when he caught the fist with his right hand, and spun around to elbow her in the face with his left arm. She was rocked by the force of the blow, and took a step back to steady herself. In a heartbeat, she leapt at him again, and this time, he let her come. When she had wrapped her arms around his neck, he smiled and went into action.

"What the heck was that?" Cyborg asked loudly, still in shock over what he'd heard. Robin had been the first to react, and ran to the D.J.'s booth. He got half way there when Blackfire came through _another _wall, bleeding and bruised, and landed in the middle of the partiers. She jumped up and looked around for her attacker.

"How…? Only _I_ know that move!" She shrieked, remembering Robin's surprise when she'd used it on him. Everyone froze, and she snapped into action.

"Sorry sis, but I'll need this back!" Blackfire jumped into the air, and flew past Starfire in a blur. When she'd gone, Starfire realized she'd snatched the necklace off of her!

"What is going on?" Starfire asked no one in particular. Beast Boy turned into a pterodactyl and Cyborg leapt onto his back, cannon at the ready.

"Let's find out."

Blackfire zoomed through the night sky, clutching her prize tightly. How had it all gone wrong? It was like this guy knew her every move before she made it! Now her idiot sister knew what was going on, and they'd probably be hot on her heels by now. She shook her head and screamed with rage. No! A perfect plan, gone! Now she'd have to run to yet another planet, and hope she could ditch the Galactic Enforcers there. Speaking of which…

"Where'd she go?" Cyborg yelled, scanning the sky with his robotic eye. Beast Boy shrieked in response, and pointed with his beak. Starfire flew beside them, Starbolts charged. How could her sister have done this? To steal, to lie, to blame it on others? How could they have been raised in the same home? She set her jaw with grim determination. Starfire had already paid crimes she hadn't committed. It was time for Blackfire to share, for once in her life.

She could almost make out the red glare of her sister's starbolts, when a new shape blocked their view.

"Is that…?" Cyborg asked dumbly. Beast Boy's eyes bugged out, and he almost fell out of the sky. A giant, red, space ship had taken up the pursuit! They heard a scream, and in a second, the ship pulled up on an incredibly steep angle. Beast Boy circled and Starfire hovered, trying to get a better look at the thing. It vanished without a sound, and they were left alone in the blackness. Cyborg called out to Starfire over the wind.

"What do we do now?"

"She was fighting someone back on the ground. We should see who they are." Starfire fairly ordered, already flying down as fast as she could. Cyborg and Beast Boy followed as closely as they could, but they couldn't match the angry girl's speed.

Robin and Raven had stayed below, concentrating on Blackfire's attacker. At first, they'd wanted to thank him. But he hadn't moved, and his hands were still glowing red. Was he hostile?

"Who are you, and what do you want?" Robin asked loudly. The rest of the partiers had retreated to the back corner of the warehouse, thoroughly done with the whole situation. The figure didn't respond.

"Speak!" Raven commanded, ready for a fight. She didn't know who this person was, but every feeling of doubt and uncertainty she'd had that day had coalesced into _this_ person. Whoever they were, they shouldn't have been there, but that was all Raven knew. In the dark, Robin thought he saw the boy smile.

"My that's a popular question today…" With a flash of red, he was gone! Robin's eyes went wide, and he ran to investigate the spot. There were two new holes in the building, a set of boot prints, and a ticked off Tamaranean to show that the boy had ever existed. Robin ran his gloved fingers through the dust at his feet. Who was this guy?

"Is he…?" Raven asked from behind him.

"Gone."

An hour later, all five Titans had returned to the tower. Somehow, an alien abduction by another alien right after a brawl was kind of a party killer. Beast Boy and Cyborg were downstairs playing video games, while Raven muttered something about research and retreated to her room. Starfire and Robin sat on the roof, watching the stars.

"Star? You ok?" Robin asked after a moment.

"I am wonderful." She said quickly, not meeting his gaze. He waited, and in a moment it all came out.

"Everything is not wonderful. I was happy to see her, but Blackfire ruled the video games, and she was able to share very depressing poems, and she knows the cool moves…" She sniffed loudly, trying not to cry, and turned to Robin. "And she always knows when people are not talking about shovels." She sighed and turned away. "And on top of all of that, she lied to us all. She tried to blame me for her wrongdoings. And it took a stranger to make her confess this!"

"Starfire, you're not like Blackfire. Fact of the matter is, she was a little obnoxious. But since she was _your _sister, we were all trying to be nice to her." Robin told her, putting a hand on her shoulder. She wiped her eyes and looked hopeful.

"You were?"

"Heck yeah! Look, she seemed nice at first, but she was obviously just here to use us. We all know you, and we're glad you're here instead of her. Look. Your sister was interesting, but she could never take your place. No one could ever take your place." Robin stuttered, not quite sure how to say it. Starfire seemed to understand, and looked up at the stars again.

"I wonder where she is now."

"Far, far away. I hope."

"Blackfire of Tamaran, you are under arrest." The captain of the Galactic Patrol told his new captive. Blackfire snarled at him, struggling against the two guards holding her back.

"You think you can keep me here? I got out once, I'll get out again!" She roared. The captain nodded, and the two guards dragged their screaming captive down the corridor.

"Thank you for your assistance in this matter. I will tell my superiors…" The captain started to say. Venator cut him off sharply.

"No. You captured the girl after she stupidly flew right into your trap. Nothing more needs to be said." Venator ordered. The captain looked surprised, but nodded.

"You are a very unusual individual, even for an Earthling."

"You're wrong on both counts. I'm considered quite normal where I come from. And that's not Earth, by the way." With another red flash, the boy was gone.

"Interesting…" The Light mused, smiling slightly as he studied the scene. Shadow paced back and forth, wracking his brains for an answer.

"Why? Why is he doing this? He should be done by now! I gave him an order, a plan, a mission! He's never disobeyed before…"

"Are you really so blind, Lucifer? Do you not see the boy's motives?" Shadow's head snapped up at Light's comments.

"Motives? His motives are mine! His mind is mine! Everything he is, I have made him!" Shadow roared. Light merely shook His head and smiled.

"If our sons did not become more than we made them, they wouldn't be sons. They'd be servants."


	4. Chapter 4

**(The next installment of my fanfic, I hope you all enjoy it. I've completely abandoned the transcripts from episodes now, but I will take the original storylines into account. Hope you all enjoy this.)**

Venator sat in his 'house', and brooded. He didn't have anything to do; the changes he'd made to the timeline had altered enough that he couldn't predict anything with certainty. The Titans had faced down the 'H.I.V.E. Five', and beaten them soundly. Venator had been there, of course, and done what he could. Jinx had _not_ gone into Raven's room, and he'd even gotten a chance to talk to the pink haired girl one-on-one.

"Hey Jinx. What's up?" He'd asked casually. They were in one of the many corridors of the Tower, and he'd snuck up on the girl. She'd whirled around as he spoke.

"What…? Who are you?"

"Doesn't matter. So, whatcha doing?" He'd asked with a smile. She narrowed her eyes and looked around, as if sensing a trap. Seeing none, she'd answered.

"My job. The Titans need killing." She said maliciously. Venator clucked his tongue and shook his head.

"Why?" The question had taken her off guard, and she hesitated before responding.

"Because… Because I want to! I enjoy this!" She finally managed, seeming to gain confidence with the answer.

"Liar."

"I enjoy this as much as anything." She defended, crossing her arms.

"Which means you couldn't care less about _this_, or anything else." Venator predicted. She seemed shocked.

"How do you know me so well? I've never even heard of you before!"

"Good. That means I'm doing my job well. Listen, I don't have all night. We've got about ten minutes until Raven comes in here and beats you senseless. So let me make this short and sweet. You don't like this _team_ of yours, Jinx. You never have. You don't want to be _here_, you just want to be somewhere. Anywhere. You want to matter, and the Hive Academy is doing that for you. But I am telling you right now. The Hive is using you." He'd paused to let that sink in.

"You think that because your powers are purely offensive that you're 'meant to be' evil. I am so tired of that phrase. No one is 'meant to be' anything! You could just have easily been a Titan. I mean really; look me in the eye and tell me you _like_ working with that snot-filled brat in the robot suit!" Venator taunted, referring to Gizmo. She narrowed her eyes and looked down.

"I…"

"Want to think about my actions and reconsider my life choices. Good." Venator finished for her. He'd started to turn away, but stopped.

"Oh, and by the way, if you see a really short kid in a yellow suit, give him a break. Dude had a rough time after he lost Artemis, and he might be in town soon."

With that, he'd left the tower. The battle afterwards had been short and sweet, since a thoughtful Jinx had barely fought at all. Venator sighed. He was sitting on a sheet, on a concrete floor, in an abandoned warehouse. The dim lights above flickered on and off, and he wondered mildly why he was so down. He was tired, he knew that. That was a new sensation! This new body, this new world, was full of surprises. Hunger, thirst, weakness, exhaustion… He'd never known these before. Pain, _that_ he knew well. But there was surprisingly little here. At least for him, anyway. He shivered and pulled the sheet closer. Cold, that was definitely a new sensation. His 'neighborhood' had _never_ been cold. He shook his head and leaned back against the wall.

And then there was the other 'adventures'. Thunder and Lightning had come to town, and Robin had gotten his first taste of Slade. And so it begins… He'd thought. Then there was Mumbo, Fixit, Dr. Light, and the Puppet King. The Puppet King, that was a fun day! Beast Boy, Cyborg and Robin had all been turned into dolls, while Starfire and Raven had switched bodies! He laughed at the thought. Somehow, Raven was less attractive when Starfire was behind the wheel. Huh, when had he started thinking about Raven as 'attractive'? He couldn't remember. Of course, he wasn't alone in that. The team had also met up with Aqualad. Or, the new one, at least. The old Aqualad, the first one, was dead and buried. This new one, ironically the former Aqualad 's friend, had witnessed the destruction of his home. When his first love, Tula, decided to stay behind and try to rebuild Atlantis, Garth had taken up his friend's name and badge, and gone into exile. He had crossed paths with the Titans after an old enemy, Trident, and helped the team defeat him _and _his army of clones. Both o the Titan girls had gone head over heels for the long-haired Atlantian, and somehow, that really bothered Venator. Jealously? Had he actually felt jealousy? And now it was almost over. He'd learned what he needed to from them; even he admitted that. But now, the final step? 'When he would do it' turned into 'When _would_ he do it?', and then 'Could he do it?' How had this happened? When he'd come to Earth, he'd had a goal in mind. A set idea of what needed to be done. But that had been _two years_ ago! A lot had changed. He'd adapted. Learned. Grown. He wasn't an obedient child anymore. Obedient, maybe, but not a child. Now what would he do? He rolled over and pulled the sheet over him, trying to get some sleep. He had just closed his eyes when he heard the 'thump' behind him. His eyes shot open, but he remained relaxed.

"Is that him? He's grown larger!" Venator heard the man say. He smiled.

"Thanagar, you old warrior, how've you been!" Venator said loudly, rolling over to face his old friend. The large, black skinned man grinned and wrapped the boy in a massive bear hug.

"Venator, good to see you!" He said laughing. The other men in the room looked on in shock, apparently unaware of their leader's relationship with the target. The other two, slightly smaller men sheathed their glowing red swords.

"I heard they named a planet after you in another universe! Congratulations!" Venator said, releasing the big man from the hug. Thanagar nodded, showing off a toothy smile.

"Bunch of bird-brains if you ask me, but warriors nonetheless! It was a great honor. But enough of me, what of you, young prince?" Venator snorted, and shook his head.

"This Earth is… different. The ticking clock over my head isn't helping matters much. I miss the old days, when we'd hang out in the 'Batcave' and make fun of those retards!" Venator said with a smile. Thanagar snorted a laugh and imitated the 'Caped Crusader'.

"Quick Robin, to the Batcave! No one will ever find us behind this sliding bookcase!" They both laughed at the memory, but Thanagar grew serious. Venator noted the change and guessed the reason.

"So, why _are_ you here, old friend?" Thanagar's face fell at the question.

"I bring word from your father. He is… displeased, with your progress." Thanagar said slowly. Venator nodded.

"On a scale of one to ten-"

"Eleven."

"That bad?" Venator cringed, worrying already at what was about to happen.

"Worse." Thanagar paused, and seemed on the verge of something profound. He tried to speak once or twice, and got it out on the third attempt. "My prince, your father has given me orders to… to finish your mission! To bring you back, kicking and screaming, if necessary! This isn't Wayne Manor, Venator, this isn't a game! We can't wipe everyone's memories and be back in the Void before anyone notices! You father says you have failed, and you his attitude toward failure!" Venator nodded, fully aware of _that_. Trigon had suffered for ages for his crime, daring though it had been.

"So, what now, old friend?" Venator asked, dreading the answer.

"Come with me, brother! We'll burn this world to ash, and go back to the Void! We'll apologize to your father, and he'll give us another assignment! We can wreak havoc on a thousand worlds, and when we're done, we'll be back in your father's favor! It will be just like old times!" Thanagar's voice had risen as he begged the prince. Venator almost wept.

"This… these aren't old times, brother. Things have changed." Thanagar hardened, and stepped back. His two companions stood as well, bracing for a fight.

"I… I don't want to do this, brother. But I will if I must. To defy our lord's command is to ask for death!" Thanagar's voice rose again, in anger this time. Venator smiled sympathetically.

"If that's what it takes for you to heal, brother, by all means. Accuse me of every crime against my father you can imagine. Please. It will make this easier." Thanagar's eyes narrowed, and he screamed in rage.

"Do not force me to do this, Venator!" With a sweeping motion, he unsheathed his _own_ sword. It was close to three feet long, shining scarlet, and wickedly curved. The blade wasn't straight from any angle; its beautiful lines danced with the light of the fluorescent bulbs above. Venator's jaw dropped.

"No… You can't…" Venator stuttered, the old poem coming back to him.

_The shining blade, beautiful to behold, _

_ It's sharpened steel as good as gold._

_The Devils sword, unleashed on men,_

_ To turn back Light, and silence them!_

"Your father _gave_ me this blade, Venator! This is how serious he was!" Thanagar explained, holding the sword in front of him. Venator's eyes narrowed, and his resolve hardened.

"Then I'll kill you both. You ignorant fool; don't you know what you hold?" Venator shouted, his hands glowing red. Tears streamed down his face, and he stood ready to fight. He remembered it all. Her beautiful face; her shining skin. Her long, black hair, her deep red gown. The eyes that haunted his nightmares, the eyes that first beheld him. His father had given her that sword, to protect them. To keep them from harm. And his father had used it to kill her. His father had slain his mother, and this fool held the blade he used to do it. Venator's jaw quivered, his eyes watered, and his soul burned.

"Venator, listen to me!" But it was past time to listen.

"Enough talk! Let it be finished!" Venator leapt at the man, slinging a bolt of energy at his hand! Thanagar stepped back, using the sword to deflect the blow. Venator ducked, rolled, and put his hands out behind him. Jets of flame erupted from his hands, and the two men who'd accompanied Thanagar were bathed in flames! Venator stood, hands in front of him, and waited for Thanagar's attack. It came, with the cursed blade coming down on his head! He dodged to the right, spinning around as he did so. He elbowed the man's chest, and then hit him again in the chin! He spun again, wrapping his arm around Thanagar's neck, trying to bring the bigger man down. With a mighty grunt, Thanagar grabbed Venator and flung him across the warehouse, and he slammed into a pile of wooden crates. Venator had risen to his feet for another round when he heard the old call.

"Titans, go!" A beam of sonic energy hit Thanagar dead in the chest, and three disc-grenades erupted in the man's face! Four starbolts struck the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust, and a crate wrapped in shadow energy smashed into him.

"Fool! You enlist aid against a soldier of the king? You will pay!" With a loud roar, Thanagar and his two minions vanished into a red curtain of light. When the dust had settled, six teens stood in the warehouse, shocked it had been that easy. Venator looked to his left, and to his horror, saw Robin reach out a hand.

"Are you ok?" Venator recoiled, and fell on his butt in his haste. Eyes wide, he backpedaled in an attempt to escape them.

"Whoa! Easy there! We're here to help!" Cyborg told him, holding up two massive, steel hands. Venator took a breath, and tried to calm down. There were still ways out of this, he told himself, don't lose your cool!

"I uh… I'm fine." He said lamely.

"Um, dude? No you're not." Beast Boy had turned back from a gorilla into his usual form, and shot a worried glance in Venator's direction. Venator tried to sit up, and felt a shooting pain in his side. On further examination, there was in fact a stream of blood running down his side, and a very large piece of wood was sticking out of his rib cage.

"What…? That was stupid." He muttered to himself. Any other day of the week, he could have blocked or deflected that.

"I'll uh, head to a hospital…" Venator said lamely, having no such intention.

"I doubt they'll know how to treat you." Raven said knowingly. Venator raised an eyebrow and looked at Robin. Had they seen…?

"We saw everything." Yes, yes they had. "Look, we've got a pretty nice setup back at our tower. We can patch you up and give you a place to stay for a while." Robin told him. Venator deflated considerably. What the heck was he supposed to do now?

"Pardon me, but I must know, are you from…?" Starfire asked hopefully, eyes wide and hands nervously fidgeting.

"Tamaran? No, sorry." He said far too quickly. He cringed as Robin gave him a funny look. He'd said too much…

"Guys, I appreciate the rescue, but I have a place to stay." Venator tried, finally managing to get to his feet.

"Where? Is it far?" Raven asked, almost concerned. She could sense that the boy was hiding something, and that feeling of unease had returned. Could this be…?

"You're standing in it." Venator answered. Beast Boy looked over at the sheet in the corner and curled his lip.

"Nice place…" Raven elbowed him, hard, and he grunted. "I mean, uh, nice place!" Venator laughed to himself.

"It's not much, but its home."

"Then it is settled. You're coming home with us!" Starfire said firmly. He was about to protest again, but then he thought about it. He really was hurt, and doubted he could treat the wound himself. What the heck. It'd been a day since he'd slept and two since he'd eaten. He'd disobeyed his father/king and attacked his best and only friend. Why not visit his enemies home?

The next morning, Cyborg and Robin stared uneasily through the glass window. Venator was apparently asleep on the other side, with an I.V. in his arm and a dozen sensors monitoring him.

"Well?" Robin asked suddenly. Cyborg sighed.

"Well. He's… different."

"That's what Raven said."

"Then I agree with her, for once. This dude is not what he appears to be!" Cyborg said firmly.

"You've already lost me. What does he appear to be?" Robin asked with a wry grin.

"A kid. A normal, super-powered kid." Cyborg laughed at his oxymoron comment. "I mean, supposedly, he's just a _little_ different from you or me. Instead, his readings are…" Cyborg threw his hands up. "Unexplainable. Heart rate: he has none. On further inspecting, he has _two_ hearts, that beat in rhythm. Instead of a pulse, this dude has a 'hum'. But when I first saw that, and he saw me see it, suddenly the reading changed and he was back to one heart. Every time I caught something… off, it'd change and become perfectly normal. Not even Raven can do all of that, while lying in bed, supposedly asleep!" Cyborg whispered. Robin looked concerned, but not yet worried.

"Has he said anything else?"

"Not a thing. Not even his name. But I heard him talk to himself. Something about 'What am I doing here?'"

"Well, he has a right to privacy. We all do. I mean, we don't know much more about Raven."

"Raven hasn't grown a new heart in the last twenty four hours!"

"How do you know? _I've_ never asked." They both sighed, and Robin continued.

"Look, he's not a threat, right now. We said we'd help him, and we did. We'll see that he gets a shower and a hot meal, and go from there."

"I still don't like it. What if…" He stopped, and Robin turned to look at him.

"What if what?"

"What if Batman made the same call before the League went under?" This stopped Robin cold, and his eyes narrowed.

"This guy wasn't in the Watchtower that day. He would have been too young."

"You weren't." Cyborg reminded him.

"Twenty adults and eight kids went into that Watchtower. Three kids came out. Please, do not lecture me on the League." With that, Robin walked away. Cyborg watched him go, already regretting his comments. Robin had lost Batman and Batgirl that day, as well as Alfred and Zatanna. But after all of that, he of all people should have been wary of lying strangers. Cyborg shook his head and left.

Venator listened to the two argue, and then finally leave. He rolled over and stretched, feeling his wound. Better, but still hurting. He kicked himself for making such a stupid mistake earlier. Of course Cyborg had seen the first readings! How stupid to have changed them and hoped he wouldn't notice. He would have just altered Cyborg's memory, or put another suggestion in his mind, but he wasn't strong enough. He had finally slept, though, and been treated to the usual nightmares. He rubbed his head and rolled to a sitting position. What was he doing here? He wondered again. Eating. He was going to grab a bite to eat and go, and put this all behind him. He _had_ told that girl on Earth 215 he'd come back… But word was she'd hooked up with another hero. Why on Earth would she want to date a guy that shot webs for a living?

Starfire was trying to watch a TV show that Cyborg and Beast Boy claimed was 'the best show ever', but had a hard time getting into it. After the third question in as many minutes, she'd just shut up and decided to look up things like 'zombie' and 'vampire' after the show was over. Robin was going over police reports from the night before, and Raven was in the kitchen. It was a shock to them all, but she'd actually made breakfast! She said she needed to clear her head, and she enjoyed cooking. No one believed her. Not even Starfire could choke down more than one of the 'pancakes', and she'd growled when Beast Boy offered to 'help'. Offering to scrape the slime out of the mixing bowl was probably not a good way to offer help, in hindsight. They all jumped when they heard the door open.

Venator stood in the doorway, dressed in his old clothes. A black denim shirt with matching jeans and boots was all he wore, and white bandages were visible under his red undershirt. His short black hair was combed to one side, and his skin was almost as pale as Raven's.

"Friend! You are awake!" Starfire yelled, flying over the couch to greet him. She hovered for a moment as she examined him; it had been pitch black when they'd first met him.

"Um, yeah. I used your shower, by the way." He told Robin, blushing a little as he spoke. He'd mixed up the hair gel and the shampoo, and then almost glued his fingers together with Robin's mask glue. Robin had offered, and Venator appreciated it, but the kid really needed to invest in a label-maker.

"Breakfast was served, but perhaps we might 'go out' to eat…" Starfire suggested delicately. Raven fumed and turned back to the sink, still trying to get the stuff out of their poor mixing bowl.

"Looks good to me." Venator sat down at the counter and piled his plate high with the green and orange lumps, and dug in with a passion. The other four Titans went slack-jawed as the visitor _chewed_ and even _swallowed_ Raven's cooking!

"Pretty good." He said after a moment, refilling his place. Raven gave the faintest smile possible, but said nothing.

"Um, ok, put 'iron stomach' on that list of powers for the new guy…" Beast Boy whispered to Cyborg. Cyborg elbowed him in the ribs as Venator blushed.

"You never told us your name." Robin mentioned, trying to strike up a conversation.

"It's uh…" Venator stuttered, not sure what to say.

"It's hard to pronounce. Call me Hunter." He finally said. It wasn't totally a lie; Venator _was_ Latin for 'hunter'. And he'd heard of guys named Hunter before. He thought.

"Welcome, Hunter, to our home!" Starfire said loudly. Venator smiled a little and nodded.

"Thanks. I appreciate this, really, I do, but I can't stay." He stood up and set his plate in the sink.

"Why?" Raven asked him, catching him off guard. Why indeed? Because I'm still debating whether or not to kill you all?

"I just…" He was interrupted by the sound of alarms, and Robin rushed to the computer.

"What is it?" Raven asked, flying over to the display. A map of Jump City showed a factory/warehouse on the edge of town, with a fresh police report already streaming.

"Slade." He spit the word, and all of the Titans tensed. Venator looked down, regretting his presence even more. He'd timed this wonderfully! In about an hour, Robin would decide to become Red X. And only Venator knew when or why.

"Let's go!" Robin started to run to the door, but stopped as he saw Venator.

"Do you want to tag along? Slade isn't someone you want on your bad side." Robin asked hesitantly. They all stared at him, and he laughed a little.

"He won't know what him. I'm in."

Inside the high-security vault, complete darkness reigned. Complete, except for the pillar of light in the center. A single computer chip floated there, spinning slowly on its axis. Out of the gloom, a long, metallic finger reached out to touch it. As soon as the finger hit the light, the room was illuminated.

"You really shouldn't take things that don't belong to you. Tell Slade if he wants the chip, he'll have to get it himself!" Robin lectured, coming into view as the lights flickered on. Starfire and Raven hovered nearby, with Cyborg riding Beast Boy in T-rex form. The thief was tall but hunched over, with a black gray suit of armor, and most importantly, an orange and black mask. This mask had _two_ eyeholes, though. The thief snatched the chip out of midair, and ran to the exit. As he did so, dozens of other Slade guards appeared out of the doorways!

"Titans, go!" The five teens leapt into action, crashing into the small army of villains assembled in the room. Venator alone was missing, and Robin wondered where he'd gone as he decked another guard. Cyborg sent fired a shot from his cannon, and Beast Boy stomped a few soldiers to dust, while Raven and Starfire fired from above. He'd have to worry about the newcomer later.

The lone man ran down the steel corridor, prize in hand. He took a corner sharply, and almost tumbled down the last few feet. Regaining his balance, he sprinted the last few yards to his escape. At the last moment, an arm shot out and hit him in the face! Venator stepped out of the shadows and put his foot on the man's chest.

"Not your brightest move, Slade. Never send a robot to do a man's job." Venator snarled, snatching the chip out of the 'being's hand. He also snatched off the mask, and revealed the camera and circuits behind it. Just then, Robin and Starfire came tearing around the corner, in hot pursuit of the robot at Venator's feet.

"Hunter! Did you…" Robin started to ask, but stopped as he saw the thing lying on the tunnel floor. Starfire looked shocked, and still had a starbolt charged on her hand.

"I figured out where he was going and headed him off. Here's the chip." 'Hunter' tossed the stolen computer chip to Robin, and grabbed one arm of the robot. He made as if to drag it off, and nodded at Starfire as he did so.

"Excuse me. Souvenir, coming through…"

"That was insane! How did you know where this thing was going?" Beast Boy was still yelling, even three hours later and back in the Tower. Venator shrugged as he took out another screw from the robot's chest.

"Lucky guess." He finally popped out the part he wanted, and threw it to Raven. She promptly plugged it into the computer and brought up a map of the city.

"According to the navigation software, this thing started out in the south sector of the city. Nice job, by the way." She said grudgingly. Ever since they'd gotten back from the mission, she'd been reclusive and withdrawn. That bad feeling she got whenever he altered the timeline was getting worse. He'd started to worry about her physical health, but shook the idea off. There was no way that him altering the course of time could have any negative effect on her. Right?

"Anyone seen Robin?" Venator asked slowly, standing up from the couch. Cyborg was behind him, studying the arm he'd pulled off of the bot, while Starfire and Robin were no where to be found.

"His 'other' room. Over there." Cyborg said, pointing a thumb off to Venator's left. He nodded and walked over to the door, knocking softly. He almost hit Starfire on the second knock, who'd been in the process of leaving. She looked moody and depressed, and Venator instinctively tried to comfort her.

"Hey, don't worry! Robin's just thinking, he'll be fine in a few days!" Venator told her, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder. She looked confused, and gave him a strange look.

"How did you know…?"

"Lucky guess." Another mistake. He'd have to start biting his tongue if he wanted to avoid any more 'lucky guesses'. Inside the small room off of the command center, Robin stood alone in front of a red table. Piled on top of it was a piece of every Slade artifact they'd come across. Plastered over the walls were clippings of newspapers depicting Slade's latest crimes. Venator took a minute to admire the room, moving silently up behind Robin.

"I know what you're planning." Venator said suddenly. Robin whirled around, glaring at the intruder.

"Excuse me?"

"I know what you're planning." Venator repeated. "But first, please, apologize to Starfire! The only girl on planet Earth that gives a rat's butt about you, and you blow her off every other day? Come on!" Venator lectured, stepping up to the table.

"How did you…? Were you eavesdropping?" Robin asked incredulously.

"Nope."

"Then how-"

"If I told you, you'd kill me." This stopped Robin cold.

"What?"

"Let me start over. You were just thinking that you can't stop Slade if you don't know what he's planning. And you won't figure out what he's planning by sitting here and doing nothing. So tell me. How do you feel about the letter X?" Now Robin was angry, and stepped back against the wall. He started to ask another stupid question, but Venator cut him off.

"Out of curiosity, is the suit done yet?" He asked suddenly, as if on afterthought. Robin accidentally glanced at a locked box in the corner, and Venator nodded. "Ok. Do me a favor? Destroy the thing. You've just created a _suit_, that anyone could wear, that's pre-programmed to disable your entire team. Wouldn't want that falling into the wrong hands, right?" He smiled and looked up at Robin understandingly. Robin still looked appalled. He again started to speak, but Venator cut him off again.

"No, don't. Let me finish. This plan of yours is flawed from the start. No matter what your mask looks like, you are still Dick Grayson. Slade can spot you a mile away. And, you cannot beat Slade by yourself. Plain and simple. You _need _this team. Don't alienate them, Dick. Don't make them doubt you." Robin was utterly speechless at this, and stared slack-jawed at Venator.

"Now. If you need anything else, I believe Cyborg told me I could stay in the room across from Raven's. I'll be there. In the meantime, I'm going to go make a sandwich." With that, Venator walked out of the room and into the kitchen.

Robin didn't listen to him. At all. An hour later, a robbery was reported in the north section of town. Robin was nowhere to be found. Starfire, Raven, Cyborg and Beast Boy all leapt into action, but Venator stopped them.

"Wait! Let me make a suggestion." Venator said quickly, stepping in front of them.

"Why don't Raven and I check this new robbery out, while the rest of you go and investigate the warehouse our friend here came from?" Venator suggested. The dissembled robot still sat on the coffee table. Cyborg looked thoughtful, and Starfire spoke up.

"But Robin said _he_ was investigating the warehouse, and he wanted to do it alone." Venator smiled inwardly, glad at the opportunity.

"Then he may need help! Come on, Raven and I can handle two-bit thief, but Robin found Slade…?" He didn't have to finish.

"Good idea. Starfire, BB, with me!" Those three ran out the front door, while Raven stayed behind and stared down Venator.

"Problems?" He asked the girl, trying hard to keep his cool. Gosh but she was pretty!

"Something stinks here, and I know you're involved." She said icily.

"Have I said something that wasn't true?" he asked carefully. She narrowed her eyes and shook her head.

"Not yet. But honestly, you haven't said much at all. Who are you, really, and what do you want here?" He sighed and looked down.

"Raven, you have your secrets and I have mine. Isn't that enough?" she was about to respond when a bright red glow lit up her face. Without turning around, Venator groaned.

"Really? Now?" He balled his hand into a fist, and a very similar red glow came from it.

"What's going on?" Raven asked, bracing herself as well. Venator turned, and saw the telltale red curtain of light. When it faded, five creatures stood on their carpet.

"You have made a grave mistake, _prince_!" The first one growled. They resembled men, but were hunched over, and had charred black skin. Their red eyes were mere slits, and had no apparent mouths. They had spoken telepathically, and as they 'spoke', long claws slid from each of their fingers!

"Maybe. Maybe not." Venator was worried. His side still hurt, and these were royal guards. The toughest of the tough. He didn't have time to worry about it any longer, because the five men charged!

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" Raven chanted, grabbing one of the creatures in midair, and slamming him into another! Venator stood in front of Raven, charging one large burst of energy on his hand. With a flash, he threw it, and it blew one of the attackers off of his feet! The other two were still coming, and Venator moved quickly to block their attacks. Their claws slashed through the air, missing Venator by inches! He tripped one of them, backhanded him, and kicked it in the ribs. Unfortunately, the other one had gotten in a shot.

"AAHH!" Venator screamed and fell to one knee, a long line of gashes running down his back. He heard Raven chant her verse, and the thing flew off into the wall.

"Hunter!" Raven tried to help him up, but Venator brushed her off.

"Get out of here!" He snarled, throwing another red bolt at one of the attackers.

"I'm not leaving you behind!"

"Yes, you are!" With a flick of his wrist, a red glow wrapped around Raven, and she was gone.

"I do not understand…" Starfire said in a worried tone, looking around the warehouse. The empty, dusty, devoid-of-all-life warehouse. Cyborg scanned the area, and Beast Boy turned into a bloodhound to sniff around.

"I've got footprints and tire tracks. Looks like the bots were unloaded here, but they came from somewhere else." Cyborg said after a moment. Starfire shook her head.

"No, I was referring to Robin." Beast Boy whirled around and changed back to human form.

"You found him?"

"No. That is what I don't understand. He is not here, nor is there any evidence he _was_ here. Why would he…" She was interrupted by a flash of red, and the sight of Raven standing in the middle of the warehouse!

"Raven, what are you doing here? And I thought your stuff was black?" Cyborg asked, stepping back to avoid trampling her. She'd arrived right under his feet!

"Hunter, he's in trouble! There are invaders in the tower!" She panted, still out of breath from the fight. "Where's Robin?" She asked after a second, looking around the warehouse.

"Not here. Let's go!"


End file.
